A Killer Secret
by My Miss Hyde
Summary: I was an ordinary small town Canadian girl until they came and took me away. I've been told I'm powerful and have a great number of loyal followers. I'm a witch and Father is sending me to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a fifth year. He told me to say loyal to him. I promised him I would be and I would stick to that promise, right?


The Killer Secret

ONE

3...2...1...*RING* I smiled in relief as the last bell of the day finally rung. "Alright class don't forget to finish your review for the test on Friday!" my math teacher called as I gathered my things and headed out the door. I walked down to my locker to pack my stuff for the long bus ride home. See I live in a small town in Canada. My school was a half hour away directly. But my bus route was at least and hour and a bit. "Are you on the bus tonight?" a girl, Liz, asks me. "Yeah, are you?" "No, sadly I have to get my braces tightened." "Ha, I never have to get any work done on my teeth!" "Gracie, are you bragging about that again?" I hear one of my best friends Rhiannon say. I turned around to smile at her and Kyrsten. "Always!" I giggled as I zipped up my backpack and left. An hour later I was walking home from my bus stop when my sister Alice says, "What's that car?" as she points at a big fancy black car in our driveway. "Best way to find out is to go ask" I replied. I dropped my back pack at the door and we walked to our living room. Both my parents were there, which was odd because they weren't supposed to be home until late. They were sitting with two very official looking people dressed in black. "Alice, please go to your room," my mom said, "We have to speak to Grace alone." I sat down across from the adults. "What's going on?" "Gracie we have to tell you something. You're adopted. You and you're brother. We took you both in when you were 3 and he was 9 months old. There was a war going on where you were from and your mother had been killed" my dad told me, "Your father had disappeared, everyone thought he was dead but recently he has been found. He demanded to know where his children had gone, thinking that you had been in the care of friends of his. You and John had been dropped at our doorstep so legally we are obligated to send you back." "WHAT?! WHEN?!" I screamed. "As soon as possible" the woman in black replied. The gears in my head started to turn, "Has John been told yet?" "No." my 'mom' told me. "Then don't. Sign any legal paper you need. Just leave him out of this" I said definitely. "But.." the man in black said. "No. My life is being ruined. His doesn't need to be as well. He's fine here." "Fine" the woman said. Her partner looked at her like she was crazy but she ignored him.

I was to leave the next day, even though my 'parents' had offered to let me stay home, I went to school. I quiet all morning by the time lunch rolled around, Kyrsten burst. "Kay, what the fuck is wrong with you? You're acting like someone died." I looked at her and Rhiannon and told them the entire story. By the end of it, we were all crying. "Where are you from then?" Rhiannon asked through her tears. "England."

TWO

I was cold to the people in Black for the entire flight over. I only asked them one question, "Why was it so easy not to take my brother?" "Only one of you is needed" she replied. They flanked me until we reached a black SUV outside the London airport. When I got into the back, I discovered that it's windows were so tinted that I couldn't see out. "Where are we going?" I asked. "Your family home" he responded. "Where's that?" "Wiltshire" she said as if it were obvious. Not wanting to converse with them any longer, I threw my earphones in and fell asleep to the voice of Ed Sheeran. Soon enough, I was woken up. When I stepped out into the sunlight, I was blinded for a few moments and I felt someone grab my arm to put me in another dark vehicle. When my eyes adjusted I discovered that the SUV and the people dressed in black were gone. They were replaced by a limo and a crazy looking woman in a ragged black dress. Her voice somehow made her even creepier. I'm not sure how, but it did. "Hello, deary" she said calmly. her voice sounded like what a sadistic killer's would. "I'm out! I'm out! I'm out!" she began to chant to no one in particular. I backed into my seat as far as I could. "W-who are you?" She turned her head so abruptly that I think that she forgot I was there. "My name's Bellatrix honey. I work for your dad." "What does my dad do?" "He's a very powerful and great Lord." "Am I royalty or something?" "Yes, something along those lines. You'll be meeting him tonight at dinner" She told me as the car stopped. "Oh we must be here!" she announced. She stepped out of the car and I followed. My head craned to see the entire building. albums/vv309/59Fuzen/Backgrounds/Mansio... "Where are we?" I asked. "This is the Riddle Residence, darling. Your home" Bellatrix tells me. "How many people live here?!" "Including you? Two and a house elf. You'll be living here when you're not at school, so you're here until the holidays are over." "Brilliant" I said sarcastically. "Follow me!" she chimed as she went up the stairs in the front foyer. The place was so creepy. I couldn't find a better haunted mansion if I tried. /files/resident-evil-1-remake-gamecube-mansion-scre... She led me up staircase after staircase until we reached a hallway that seemed to be a little grander than the others we'd come through. At the end were a pair of thick double doors made of wood. She opened them to a dusty old room that looked like it hadn't been used in a decade. She told me to come in and then she closed the doors behind me. _Oh shit. This is where she kills me or turns me into a vampire right? Why didn't I learn anything from horror movies? I am so beyond the audience yelling at me to run. I'm dead. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. _"I was told to help you redecorate since you wouldn't know how to yet" she says. "Huh?" "This is your room. I am to help you redecorate it the way you please." "Oh. Okay" I sighed, relieved. "Wait, how?" I asked. "With this?" she said like it was obvious, as she pulled a stick out of her pocket. She waved it and the spiderwebs and other nasties in the room disappeared. I screamed. "How the fuck did you do that?!" I asked, frightened. She started to laugh. No, it wasn't a laugh. It was too evil to be laughter. I backed up as far as I could from her and I ended up tripping backwards on a table that had been knocked over. When I landed, I saw a picture laying face down on the ground. I picked it up to find that it's glass had been smashed. The photo was fine though. There was a family in it. The mother and the father were beaming over their children. The mother had a baby in her hands and the father was carrying a small girl. I looked closer at the little girl, she couldn't have been more than 2 or 3. I couldn't place where I had seen their faces before. But I had. I put the photo in my pocket as I stood up. Bellatrix was still laughing. For whatever reason, I felt a new found bravery. "I want white walls. A really big closet over here and a bathroom over here" I started. She stopped laughing. "Pardon?" "I'm telling you what I want this place to look like. So pay attention" I snapped. After an hour, I sat down on my pretty new bed and smiled. "Is that all?" Bellatrix asked. "Yes, thank you" I replied. "Well wash up for dinner. And change into something nice. He'll be expecting that you'd be presentable" she told me as she left. My room was probably the brightest place in the mansion. . /39d412f754bf68e08c1599a35d52 edaa/tumblr_... I took out the photo and put it in my desk in the corner. I walked over to my new, MASSIVE walk in closet. wp-content/uploads/2012/10/white-modern-walk... It had it's own overhead light. Since most of the clothes in the closet were black I chose out a slim dress with blouse like sleeves to wear, black heels, and a green belt to put around my waist. I did my hair up in a bun and painted my nails so that they were the same colour as my dark purple lipstick. My eyes were a simple black wing of eyeliner with gold. /appropriate/set?id=66575032

As I walked down the stairs to the dining room, I was a little nervous but also a little excited. As much as I hate the idea of leaving my friends, my family and my country, I was excited to find out who my real father was. To find out the family that I have descended from. I reached a pair of double doors that would open to reveal the dining room. I heard a voice inside call out, "Come in." I opened the doors widely. . /tumblr_lxysqrtuwJ1r1kliyo1_ I looked around the room for the only other figure present. He was sitting at the head of the table and when he turned, I gasped. He was hideous. The large snake that was slithering around his shoulders creeped me out. They looked similar. Neither had hair, they both had slits for a nose. His skin was greyish-blue and his eyes were brown. He chuckled at my reaction. "You're frightened at my appearance. Yes?" he asked. "Erm...yeah...sorry?" I responded. "Sit. We'll talk" he told me while gesturing to the opposite end of the table. "Well my name is Voldemort, I'm your father."

THREE

After we talked for a while and we ate he invited me to the parlour. . /2010/11/govenors-mansion-fo... We sat across from each other. "I've been meaning to tell you this, but I didn't know how to bring it up. Your name isn't Grace" he told me. I was startled. "Then what is it?" "Scarlett. Scarlett Rose Riddle." "Oh, well that's pretty-" I stopped suddenly because, Nagini father's snake had slithered over to me. I'm petrified of snakes. I sat rigid on the sofa until father ordered her away. He was chuckling at me, "Not fond of snakes?" "Not in the least." "Pity, they're the symbol of the Riddles." "I just hate the way they move. A picture that doesn't move is just fine." "See, that's another problem. Our pictures move." "Our? The Riddles?" "Oh, no. I meant our kind." "Which is...?" "Witches and wizards, Scarlett. You're a witch. A pureblood too." "A what?!" "A pureblood. Both of your parents were magic" he told me as I stood up in fright. "No! The other thing!" "Witch?" "Yes!" "You're a witch, you can preform magic." "No, I can't. Witches and wizards don't exist" I trembled. He grinned, "You say that, but you know that it's true. Don't you?" he said. As he did, a memory flashed through my brain. The woman in the photograph. She was holding me and singing a song. "Lavender's Blue dilly dilly..." I was happy. Happier than I've been since. "My mother" I said suddenly, "She used to sing to me." Father was taken aback by the sudden change in topic. "Yes. You were quite fond of the song Lavender's Blue" he told me. I smiled and sighed. "Did you always look how you do now?" I asked. "No" he said sadly. "See, when you were only one year old a terrible thing happened. A boy hurt me so badly that I was reduced down to almost nothing. I had to rebuild myself and regain my strength. I only succeeded in this fully, at the end of June. But we can talk about all that later. It's time for bed" he explained. "Good night, father" I told him as I exited the room to go up to my new bedroom.

Over the course of the week, he taught me about my heritage and how Harry Potter had made a fool of my family. Without him, my mother would still be alive and I would never had been moved to Canada. I was the Dark Princess. I was pureblood royalty. Scratch that, Magical Royalty. When father gained what he deserved, we would be the most powerful family in the world. We would rid the earth of it's muggle scum. We were the better race. As he taught me these things, I kept thinking of something that my muggle history teacher had taught me but I shook it off. _Nazi Germany?_When the holidays ended, I would go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and infiltrate Harry Potter's forces. Find out his secrets, anything useful that father could use to bring him down. Father gave me a baby goat as a pet since I didn't like snakes. I named her Gracie after my muggle namesake. /wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Pygmy_Goat_Juve... She kept me company most days. One afternoon when father was out, I heard the doorbell ring. I yelled for Berta, the house elf, to get the door. Soon, she knocked at my door. "Come in" I told her. "The Malfoy's are here to see you, Miss Riddle" she reported. "Oh good. They said that they would be in to visit me today" I said as I walked out the door. The Malfoy's were one of my father's favourite pureblood families. Lucius was a faithful death eater and their son, Draco, was to become one as well. Narcissa Malfoy was the sister of Bellatrix, who was his 'right hand man' per say. I have only met Lucius, Narcissa and Bellatrix though, Draco was at school. I paused before I could see them to check my self in the mirror. I had a pretty black dress on with simple black heels on. cgi/set?id=67568565 Not the most impressive but no matter. I moved forward to turn down the stairs. I paused at the top to see my visitors. I could see Lucius, Narcissa, Bellatrix, and a tall, blonde young man that I assumed was Draco. They stopped their conversation and looked up at me. "Good afternoon, Lady Scarlett!" Narcissa called. I smiled politely as I descended the stairs. When I reached the last few stairs, the boy I assumed was Draco held out his hand to help me down. I smiled graciously when I reached the bottom and he kissed my hand. "Draco, I presume?" I asked. "Yes, Lady Scarlett. It's a pleasure" he responded. "Please, the pleasure is all mine" I replied. "Well, we must be off" Lucius said as he held the front door open for his female companions. "But you've only just arrived!'" I protested. "No fear, Lady Scarlett. Draco is remaining here to keep you company" Lucius told me as he waved farewell and closed the door behind him. I turned to Draco, "So what do you want to do?" I asked. "It doesn't matter to me." "Good, because I was keen on making some cookies today and you can help" I announced as I strutted off towards the kitchen. "P-pardon?" he stammered. I turned my head and smiled at him as I beckoned for him to follow me. He returns the smile and followed me into the kitchen.

FOUR

"Good bye, Scarlett" my father said to me as I was on my way out the door. I was taking the car to King's Cross so that I could take the train to Hogwarts. I picked up Gracie and got into the black vehicle. When we arrived at the station, I ran through the wall just as father had instructed me. The platform was buzzing with people. I loaded my luggage onto the train and with Gracie on her leash I boarded. I walked through the train until I found an empty compartment. I put my earphones in and blasted Bleeding Out by: Imagine Dragons I pet Gracie until she fell asleep and I wasn't far behind her. I jolted awake when the train jolted. When I opened my eyes, the empty compartment had people in it. "Oh, shit! Hi!" I said in surprise. The ginger girl giggled. The boy next to me had jumped when I spoke. I looked at him, he was ginger too. He and the girl looked alike. They were probably siblings. "Hello. I'm Hermione Granger" said a the girl next to the ginger girl who had bushy brown hair. "Hello, Hermione. I'm Scarlett. Scarlett Williams" I told her. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone I was a Riddle. Father said that they would try to hurt me. I looked around the compartment at the people around me. The boy next to me introduced himself as Ron Weasley. The ginger girl was Ginny Weasley. The round faced boy next to Ron was Neville Longbottom, whom I'd heard about from Bellatrix. She had tortured his parents into madness. Finally the boy across from me spoke, "I'm Harry, Harry Potter." I was instantly confused. _I thought that he'd be older. He looks my age._ "What year are you guys?" I asked. Everyone was in fifth year like me except for Ginny, who was in fourth year. "So what house are you in, Scarlett? I've never seen you before" Hermione asked. "Oh I'm not in one yet. I just moved from Canada. I only recently learned that I was a witch. There's no wizarding school in North America" I explained. "That explains your funny accent!" Ron exclaimed. A little offended, I raised an eyebrow. "Not that it's funny. Just different. We didn't know where you were from exactly. It didn't sound American" Hermione covered up for Ron. "Oh, yeah. Right. It's not actually all that funny. Just, different. Like Hermione said" Ron blushed. I looked up when I heard a knock at the door of the compartment. It was Draco. But I wasn't supposed to know him. "I heard that there was a new girl this year" he said in an arrogant tone I'd never heard before. "I think that I should remove her from you lot before you ruin her chances of being an honourable witch" he continued. "Shove off, Malfoy" Harry growled. "Watch it, Potter. I'm a prefect remember? I could give you detentions if you want. I'm sure Professor Umbridge wouldn't mind" he threatened. I saw Harry tuck his left hand a little deeper into his sleeve. Draco turned to me. "Come with me, beautiful. I can teach you some stuff about the rights and wrongs of magical blood. Lesson number one. You don't want to hang around mudbloods. They're fowl" he said to me. Ron lept up and looked like he was about to attack Draco but Hermione pushed him back down. Draco was laughing. "So are you coming or what?" he asked me. "I'm fine here" I told him. "Okay, but you don't know what you're missing" he said as he turned and kept walking down the train.

"Are you going with the first years?" Ron asked. "No, I'm coming with you but I have to wait in the entrance hall for the first years" I explained. I shivered as we climbed into a carriage. "Cold?" Harry asked me. "A little, but it's nothing a Canadian girl can't handle" I winked. He still put an arm around me. "I hope you get into Gryffindor" Harry whispered to me. "I don't think I will" I told him. "How do you know that?" he asked. "Well, my family has been pretty much all been in Slytherin. Plus I'm not all that brave or daring" I admitted. "It's probably the last house I'd get put into" I continued. "That's a shame. Well, we can still be friends right?" he asked. I looked at him and smiled. "Of course!" I told him. He grinned and I looked ahead at the castle we were approaching. _Bring it on, Hogwarts. Bring it on._

FIVE

"Hmm...difficult. Very difficult indeed" the sorting hat on my head murmured. "I say... HUFFLEPUFF!" it yelled. _Hufflepuff? What the hell is a Hufflepuff anyways? Father thought I was definitely going to be in Slytherin, with my Riddle family heritage it was almost guaranteed._ I stood up and walked to the table that was cheering and whooping. A group of girls that looked around my age waved me over. The blonde girl introduced herself as Sophie and the strawberry blonde was Ava, while the brunette was Charlotte. They were fifth years like me. After the meal, they took me down to the common room. It was by the kitchens behind a group of barrels that had to be tapped in the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff. Inside was very earthy. Literally. The walls were made of dirt. Plants hung from the low ceiling and on the far side of the room, at the top of the wall were windows that let sunlight stream in even though it was dark outside. Grass and other plants were visible from the inside. There we couches and chairs scattered around the room. The small hearth under the windows was flanked by two circular wooden doors with iron handles. The girls lead me through the one on the right. It held a hall with skylights every few meters to allow light into the corridor. There were doors on each side, which I figured were the dormitories. When we reached dorm number 32, we walked in. "I knew it!" Ava called out. My stuff was placed at the bed farthest left of the door. It had yellow bedding on it and a black frame. Gracie was running around in the room, jumping on my bed, and bleating extremely loudly. "Gracie! Hush!" I scolded. As soon as she heard my voice, she came barreling down towards me. When she jumped from Ava's bed into my arms, she began to bleat contentedly. The girls giggled and pet her._ You're lucky you're cute, Gracie. _I thought as I sighed and smiled.

I ran through the stone corridors to where my first class had already begun. I burst through the door and all the heads turned my way. "I...um...the stairs.." I stammered my excuse. But Professor McGonagall just waved me in. "I'll let you off on your first day, but your first day only. Be here on time tomorrow please Miss Williams" She told me, "Come sit by Mr. Finnigan please." She turned back to her chalkboard. I looked to the class petrified. I looked around hoping that someone would give me a hint of who 'Mr. Finnigan' was. I spotted a boy wearing Gryffindor colours waving at me. Since there was an empty seat next to him, I figured that he was Mr. Finnigan. I rushed over and sat down. "Hi, I'm Scarlett" I whispered. "Seamus" he whispered back in a thick Irish accent. I took a quick sideways glance at him. He was average height, slight build, short sandy coloured hair, and blue eyes. Although his uniform was unkept, he was cute. Very cute. Attractive even. I was so busy deciding what level of attractiveness he possessed that I didn't notice the teacher asking me a question. "MISS WILLIAMS" she barked. I jumped. "Please pay more attention to my lesson rather than Mr. Finnigan" she ordered. I blushed and there was a collective giggle from around the room. I heard another Gryffindor boy whisper to Seamus, "You're as red as a beet mate!" This made me blush more. I didn't look at Seamus for the rest of the class.

When we were dismissed, I stood up immediately. I was half way down the stairs when I heard my name being called. "Scarlett! Scarlett wait up!" I turned around to see Hermione hurrying after me. "Oh, Hi Hermione! How are you?" I asked. "I'm fine, but I was wondering since you're going to need a lot of help catching up maybe I could help you?" "Would you?!" I asked excitedly. "Absolutely! But could we meet in the Gryffindor common room?" "Yes of course, sorry where is it?" "I'll show you after lunch, okay?" she told me. I beamed. "Great! See you then!" I turned and continued my walk down to my next class. When I reached the Muggles Studies classroom I spotted Sophie, who had saved me a seat. When I sat down she was beaming at me. "What?" I asked. "You got caught staring at Seamus!" she giggled. I blushed. "Oh shush!" I said. "Do you want me to tell yo about him or not?" she asked. I rolled my eyes. "Yes please" I said, defeated. "Well, let's just say that he's...explosive" she told me. "What does that mean?" "He blows stuff up. Like everything. In first year charms, he blew up a feather while we were practising a levitating charm" she smiled. I laughed. "So he's clumsy?" I asked. "Very. Oh and I heard that he and Harry aren't talking. They were really close and then as soon as this whole you-know-who thing happens..." she said. "You-know-who? Who's that?" I asked. "Well, you know. Harry claims he's back or whatever, but like no one believes him" she explained. "That's great, but that doesn't explain who this 'you-know-who' person is." "We can't talk about him in public. I'll tell you when we get back to the dorm, okay?" she whispered just as Professor Burbage cleared her throat to start the class. "Okay" I told her as I wrote notes on muggle magazines.

Sitting in the common room, I was finishing my essay on the importance of cars in the muggle world for Muggle Studies when Sophie comes to sit with me. "He was the darkest wizard ever known. He over threw the ministry with the help of his followers, death eaters. They attacked muggles and muggle borns mostly but they also put people under the Imperious curse and blackmailed them to have servants in positions of power. Murder and corruption were daily occurrences. But there was a prophecy about someone who would defeat the dark lord. So when he went to kill the boy who was said to be the one to defeat him once and for all, his mother threw herself in front of her child. When she died, the boy couldn't be harmed. He had been protected by his mother's love. The dark lord couldn't touch him. When he went to kill the child, the spell rebounded and he died instead" Sophie explained. "He didn't die" I said without even thinking about it. _Father. You-know-who is my father._ She was shocked. "How do you know that?" she asked, offended for some reason. "My parents work at the ministry. They know that he's not and I believe them. Harry just wants attention" She told me. I nodded in agreement, knowing how close I had been to blowing my cover on the first day.

SIX

"Okay hold on" Hermione said as she stopped me in front of a portrait of a large lady. Hermione whispered something to her and the frame opened to reveal a door. "Too cool!" I said as we walked into what I presumed was the Gryffindor common room. We sat down and we practiced spells on a flower that she had found outside. "Accio!" I said forcefully as I pointed my wand at the flew into my outstretched hand. I knew a few spells that father had taught me but he said that I wasn't allowed to preform them off of our grounds unless under specific instruction. They were the Cruciatus curse, the Imperious Curse, and The Killing Curse. Basic spells were coming easily. "Wow, that's impressive. It usually takes a few tries" Hermione muttered. I beamed. I suddenly had the feeling of being watched. I snapped my head up to find that Seamus was looking at me. He turned back to what he was working on immediately. "He's been looking at you ever since he saw you in here you know" Hermione said smirking. "Huh" I said as I turned back to her, my cheeks flushed sightly. "I'm sure that on the days that I can't teach you, he would willingly volunteer" she sing songed. "Hermione, what re you implying?" I asked, smiling out of the corner of my mouth. "Oh nothing but if that okay with you, I'll ask him after we're done. Now, the stunning spell" she started.

I walked to the Gryffindor common room by myself after dinner. Today, I was learning the Disarming charm. Apparently it was really easy but since I was progressing so well, Hermione forgot to teach it to me. "Dilligrout" I said as I approached the painting. Her frame swung open and I walked into the empty common room. Well almost empty. There were a few little groups of people in the corners but no one I recognized. I sat down on the couch by the fire waiting. She was probably just up in her dorm and since I didn't know which one was her's I stayed down here. After about five minutes another person sat down on the couch next to me. I turned to see Seamus staring into the fire. "Hey" I greeted him, "Do you know where Hermione went?" "No, but she did tell me to give you a message" he told me, still looking into the fire. "Okay..?" "Since she can't make it today, I'll be teaching you. Mind you though, whenever I try to do a spell the object usually blows up" he told me sadly. I laughed. Hard. I was holding my belly and he was staring at me oddly. A smile was slowly pulling across his lips. "Can you show me?" I asked through giggles. "I don't actually know how I do it...it just happens..." he told me. I sat up straight, wiping the tears from my eyes. I blushed when I realized that I was being rude. "Sorry, that was probably offensive" I apologized as I looked back at the fire. I felt the couch move a little and then his body close against mine. "That was me favourite reaction yet" he said. I looked at him in surprise. He smiled weakly before showing me the disarming charm.

"So how were your lessons last night?" Hermione asks as were walking into Potions together. Giving me a knowing smile, she raised an eyebrow. "Easy as per usual, where were you?" I asked, avoiding her implied question. "No where in particular." "Yeah, okay" I nodded sarcastically. "Please be quiet! Take your seats. Granger. Williams" Snape said. I looked around to see that most desks were taken. Except for the one next to Harry. I sat down and I waved a greeting. As we were forming the potions he asked me a question, "So what did you do to Seamus last night?" I looked up confused. "Pardon me?" "Well we share a dorm, right? Well he wouldn't shut up about you. So what did you do?" He was being cheeky now. I scoffed, "Nothing!" He raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Honest!" I laughed. "Yeah...right..I believe you.." I stuck out my tongue at him. "So, what the hell is Horklump juice?" I asked as we made the potion.

SEVEN

I was waiting in the front foyer for Seamus. I wore my favourite turquoise jeans. walk_in_snow/set?id=66842178 Hermione was busy today he wanted to work outside. I saw him running down the stairs. "Whoa, Seamus! You're going to fall! Slow down!" I called out to him. He didn't slow down and when he reached me he started to apologize in between huffs. "Scar, I'm so sorry! The freken stairs changed while I was on me way!" he puffed. "Seamus! It's okay I understand, plus you weren't even all that late! You said you'd meet me at 7:30. It's 7:35" I giggled. "Is it really?" he said as he began to smile. "Oh, nope sorry. It's 7:36" I laughed as I looked at my watch. "So I look little bit like a loser now?" "Mmm...a little." "Ah well" he laughed as he lead me outside. We started heading to the lake when he stopped me, "Okay, close your eyes." "What?" I asked. "Just do it, I'll guide you." So I closed my eyes and I felt his trembling hands grasp my waist. We walked in silence for what seemed like a life time. Finally his hands left my torso. "Can I open my eyes yet?" I asked. "No! Just hold on one wee minute..." I felt warmth on my face. _His breath? _I felt our lips meet. His hands went to my waist and mine were around his neck. We soon deepened the kiss. I felt his tongue against my lips, asking for entrance. I left him hanging for a few moments before I allowed it. The moment I did, his arms wrapped themselves all the way around me, pulling him closer to me. I lost track of time. All there I needed was him. But too soon we heard a cough from behind me. Seamus took his time pulling away. He leaned his forehead against mine before looking up fully. "Can we help you?" He asked, arms still around me. "Yes, please take that somewhere else" I heard a familiar voice say behind me. I whipped around as soon as I heard it. He was closer than I had anticipated. Only a few metres away. It was Draco. "Hello, Scarlett" he said to me. "You know him?" Seamus whispered to me. "His name" I whispered back. But I knew what Draco was really doing there. He was warning me that Father wouldn't be happy about me being with a Gryffindor half blood. I didn't care though. I really liked Seamus. "Anyways, it's almost curfew you two love birds should get inside so that you don't get in trouble" Draco said as he turned towards the castle and began to walk away. "Since when does that git Malfoy care whether or not we get into the castle on time?" Seamus asked. "Maybe he fancies you" I teased. "Poor bloke, I fancy someone else." "Who?" I winked as he kissed me again.

That night I was laying in bed listening to Try By: Pink thinking about Seamus when Sophie walks in. "There was a letter for you pinned on the door" she told me as she handed me a letter. She was still looking at me when I was just about to open the letter. I raised my eyebrow at my best friend. "Yes?" I asked her. "What's with the moony look? Have you been hanging out with Seamus?" I smiled widely. "Oh my GOSH! TELL ME EVERYTHING! WAIT." She squealed as she ran out the door. She came running back with Charlotte and Ava who must have been in the common room. I laughed and I told them how Seamus took me out to a little corner of the lake and how we kissed. We were both giggling and squealing by the time I was done. "So are you like dating now?" Ava asked. I paused. "I don't know actually. We didn't really say anything about it" I told her. "Well you're going to have to find out soon, because I need to know!" Charlotte squealed. I laughed at her as they all got up to get ready for bed. I opened my letter when they were arguing over the bathroom. It was from Father. I had been here for nearly a month and I hadn't heard anything from him until now.__

Forget the half blood. Focus on bringing Harry Potter down.

For the first time ever, I defied my father. I ripped the letter in half, walked to the common room and threw it into the hearth. I wasn't going to forget Seamus. Some how, I knew that as much as I wished at the time it would be that it wouldn't be the last time I would defy him.

EIGHT

"Are you coming then?" Seamus asked as he stood behind me at the Hufflepuff table in the Grand hall. "Yeah, just one minute!" I told him as I grabbed an apple and stood up. Hermione had invited me to come hang out in their common room after dinner instead of study because after 3 months of lessons, I had caught up with the rest of the fifth years. I sent a letter to my father to express my advancements. He replied saying that he wouldn't have expected anything less of _his _daughter. I took it as a compliment because with him, that's about as good as it gets. Holding my hand, which defied Umbridge's eight inches rule, Seamus walked to Gryffindor tower with me in tow. "Why is it that you have to rush everywhere?" I asked lightly. He turned to me and stopped abruptly. I flung forward a little. Laughing he said, "Why are you so leisurely?" "I have to balance you out some how" I smiled. He smiled back but when he started to move again, he was just as fast. If not faster.

I sat with all my Gryffindor friends. Neville, Ginny, Fred, George, Dean, Hermione, Ron, and I even happy to see Harry. We talked throughout the night and people constantly asked me to preform different spells for them. I happily obliged. _Oh what Rhiannon and Kyrsten would say if they saw me now. _Soon, I found it difficult to keep my eyelids open. "I think I better head back to my dorm, what time is it anyways? I don't have my watch" I said. "Oh shit, it's 1:30!" Ron cursed. "FUCK!" I cried as I stood up to run to the door. However, Seamus pulled me back down. "Seamus, I have to go!" I told him. "You can just stay with me tonight. That is if you want that" he told me, his voice husky due to sleepiness. "That's okay?" I asked as I looked around at his roommates. They all nodded. "But keep your pants on please!" Dean joked.

"Here" Seamus said as he handed me clothes to wear to bed. There was a Gryffindor T-shirt, and a pair of boxer shorts. /cgi/set?id=66606089 I changed in the bathroom. I put my clothes in Seamus' trunk like he had told me. I sat down on his bed as he went in to the bathroom. I found his slippers under his bed and put them on. I walked over to the window. I didn't get a view like this in my basement dorm. I felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around my waist and a head rest on my shoulder. I put my arms on his and leaned my face into his. "Want to go to bed?" he asked. "In a minute. This view is spectacular" I replied. "Absolutely" He said. I looked at him to see him watching me. I blushed as I turned back to the window. The door opened behind us and in walked Seamus' roommates. "Oh. Sorry guys" Harry said. We turned around. "It's alright Harry. We were just going to bed anyways" I said. Seamus guided me to his bed with his hand on my lower back. I laid down and it was only then that I saw what he was wearing. I don't know why, but pyjamas on guys are totally sexy. His form fitting t-shirt was almost too much for me. When he got into the bed, it took most of my self control not to go all out right then and there. When he reached for me I whispered, "Wait until the light's off." Puzzled, he raised an eyebrow. I waved it off. When the other boys had settled into bed and all the lights were turned off, I reached for him. When I felt the fabric of his shirt under my fingertips, I grabbed it and pulled him to me. He was chuckling at my roughness. I grasped his face and brought it to mine, just before our lips touched I whispered to him, "Hmm...maybe I'm too tired for this." When I went to turn around, he grasped my torso and locked his arms around me while snickered softly. He moved slightly to kiss me. Roughly. Soon his hands were exploring my body. When they reached my hips, he flipped me over so that he was on top of me. My legs coiled around his waist, securing me to him. His hands ventured up my shirt until his arms were wrapped around my bare back under my shirt. Suddenly someone called out, "We're not asleep yet!" Our lips left each other. His forehead was still pressed firmly against mine. We were panting heavily. Slowly, I brought my legs back from around him and he took his hands out from under my shirt. We shifted positions so that I was lying on his chest and his arms were around me. I was drifting off when I heard him whisper something. It was so faint that I almost didn't hear him. "I love you."

NINE

The next morning I snuck back into my dorm, thinking that everyone was still asleep I just turned on my iPod and started listening to Radioactive By: Imagine Dragons when all of a sudden, Sophie, Charlotte, and Ava were in my face. "Holy shit!" I exclaimed, "I thought you guys were asleep!" "Your goat doesn't shut up. We went to ask you where the mute button was and how you were sleeping through the racket when we found you weren't even there. Where the bloody hell were you last night?!" Ava demanded. "Seamus'. Sorry about Gracie, I forgot that she bleats whenever I don't rock her to sleep" I replied. "You were WHERE?!" Charlotte yelled. I wasn't sure whether she was happy or angry about it. "Seamus'?" I replied hesitantly. "OH MY GOD! Scarlett! What happened? Did you guys do anything?! Spill!" Sophie squealed. _Typical Sophie_, I thought smiling slightly. The other two began to squeal too. They all sat on my bed excitedly. "Well...things did get a little heated, I must admit" I obliged. "Oh. My. Gosh. SCARLETT! You naughty girl!" Ava giggled. "It's a secret though okay? We would get in so much shit if Umbridge found out" I told them even though I couldn't care less if she knew. If Draco finds out, he'll tell Father and he already doesn't like Seamus. He's a dark wizard, who knows what he'd do.

Seamus and I were walking to potions after lunch when we were stopped by Draco. "I need to speak with you" he spat at me. I looked at Seamus, who's hand came around my back and pulled me slightly behind him protectively. "I won't hurt your precious girlfriend Finnigan, I just need to talk to her" Draco told him. "It's okay Seamus, I'll be right there" I told Seamus as I passed him to follow Draco. Even though we were out of earshot of anyone, Draco put a muffling spell around us. "What the bloody hell happened last night?!" he spat. "My friends and I celebrated the fact that I caught up with the class in the Gryffindor common room" I said. "So you just stayed there?" He asked, disgusted. " Yeah, so? It's none of your business" I said defiantly. "Sure as hell is! Do you even realize who you are? It's not appropriate to do something like that with someone like that." "I didn't have sex with him, Draco!" "Might as well have! Would have probably caused less damage!" "Alright that's it. I don't use my authoritative power a lot. I actually don't like to, but in this case I'm willing to make an exception. You will not question my decisions in my love life and you will not report any of it to my father. It is none of your business and you are to stay out of it. Do you understand?" "Scar-" "Don't you 'Scarlett' me. That is an order!" "Fine." "Pardon?" "I mean, of course my lady! Anything." "Good. I'm glad that's settled" I told him promptly as I reversed the muffling spell and carried on to class.

I walked into Potions just as Snape was beginning. "Today we are making a Fire Protection Potion. I am assigning your partners" Snape states. There was a collective groan from around the room. "Enough. Now, Sophie and Dean, Ava and Seamus, Charlotte and Ron, Collin and Hermione..." he continued. I zoned out to his monotone voice about halfway through the list. I was still sitting staring into space when Harry approached me. "Are you coming or what?" he teased. "What?" I asked. "We're partners." "Oh! Sorry. I'm coming" I told him. _Father must have told Snape to do this. Oh well. _"Okay so the first thing we have to do is slice bursting mushrooms with knife, add to cauldron and stir clockwise until potion turns blue" Harry read from the textbook. I started to slice while I asked him, "So aren't you some famous hero or something?" He laughed, "Yeah I guess, but considering how I got fame I would rather not be." "Why are you famous then?" "Well when Voldemort was in power, he came into my house and killed both of my parents. When he tried to kill me, the spell rebounded. That's how I got my scar, see? People say that he died, but I know otherwise. Not to frighten you or anything but I saw him come back. He's alive again and out for blood. No one believes me though" He explained. I smiled slightly. "I believe you" I told him. "You do?!" "Absolutely" I reassured. He grinned widely as we set to work on the potion that we were bound to fuck up.  
I walked into my Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, thinking about this class always made me scoff a little. I was the Dark Arts. At least the teacher wasn't good at teaching much of anything. Professor Umbridge was sickly sweet and I didn't like her in the least. But at least I didn't have to sit through boring lectures on how to defeat my followers. I was reading another insultingly easy chapters from her beginner's textbook when a paper crane landed on my desk. Still flapping it's wings, I noticed the words _Open Me_ written on one of it's wings. I opened it gingerly to find a note from Harry:

_Follow Seamus after dinner. Show him this as well._

I prodded Seamus and showed him the note. When he raised his eyebrow I mouthed the word 'Harry' to him. Instantly he smiled brightly and turned to Harry to mouth 'Thank You!'  
At dinner Seamus took me over to his table to eat there. "Hello, Scarlett!" Ron greeted me as I sat down in between him and Seamus. Harry started asking me a bunch of questions about where my loyalties lay. "I-I-I don't know! I don't know a lot!" I exclaimed after a few minutes of interrogation. "It's okay, love. Calm down. They're just questions" Seamus told me as he messaged my shoulder. I reminded myself that no one knows anything and there was no way that they could've found out. "Do you know how do defend yourself magically?" Harry asked. I could, but not legally. "No. No, I don't" I told him. "Then what would you say if we asked you to become part of a secret organization?" Harry asked. "What does this organization do, exactly?" "Harry's teaching us spells we'll need to defend ourselves ever since...V-Voldemort came back" Hermione said. Seamus and Ron shuddered at the name. She raised her eyebrow slightly but for the most part ignored my impartial reaction. "And Harry knows more than you?" I asked her. "W-well, he's actually experienced it. He fought and killed a basilisk in second year. He fought V-Voldemort last year when Harry saw him being reformed. Plus he won the triwizard tournament, at fourteen. Youngest person to ever do so. I read books, he knows what will and will not be useful out there" Hermione explained. I smiled mischievously, "Count me in" "Yes!" Harry exclaimed, giving me a high five as Hermione gave me a slip of paper and a quill to sign my name. _Would father be proud? Or angry?_

TEN

"Alright just think of a happy moment. A powerful one" Harry told me. He was teaching everyone how to conjure the Patronus charm. "Do you have one?" he asked. I thought of the first time I met my father. "Yeah" I said. "Good, then repeat after me: Expecto Patronum!" he said as he moved his wand in a counter clockwise motion. "Expecto Patronum!" I chanted while thinking of my father. Out of Harry's wand sprouted a stag that bounded around him, out of mine came some faint mist. "The memory probably isn't strong enough. Try another?" he suggested. I thought harder about a memory. I thought of my muggle family. How my baby sister Lily used to squeal when she saw me for the first time everyday after school. How Alice made brownies and we gossiped about our friends and boys whenever we had a spare moment to ourselves. Or how John, my only real sibling, loved to bike. How my dad had been the editor for a small town paper. How he was always grumpy on Tuesdays. The I thought of my mom. How she cried at my school talent show when I was in the seventh grade when I dedicated a song to her. How she was always busy taking pictures for the paper. How both of them had been so proud of me no matter what. How much they all loved me. And how much I loved them. "Expecto Patronum!" I yelled again and out of my wand came a fully formed silvery white dog. It was a cocker spaniel! I smiled and Harry started to clap. As I watched the dog run around, a fox joined it. They danced together and twirled around each other. I looked for who was conjuring the fox to see a beaming Seamus. "Have you ever heard of Disney?" I asked him. "Yeah, I used to watch those movies when I was little!" he answered. "Have you seen the Fox and the Hound?" I winked. He smiled widely as he began to strut towards me, our patronus' disappeared as he grasped my waist with both hands. "We should make an older version of it" he suggested cheekily. I smiled, "I think a romance between the fox and the hound sounds like a good idea" "Shall we experiment with some ideas?" "I agree. We do have to plan for this new blockbuster" I winked as he leaned in to kiss me. "Ahem!" Someone coughed. We stopped right before our lips connected. "You know you're in a room full of people, right guys?" Dean told us. As the room laughed collectively, Seamus and I separated. Before he was completely gone he whispered to me, "To be continued."

"What's the news?" Draco asked. We were meeting for the first time since we arrived at Hogwarts. Father had asked me to confer with him over the year, but that hasn't happened until now. "Yes, there is a group of kids meeting to practice Defence Against the Dark Arts behind Umbridge's back" I told him, "They're lead by Harry Potter." "Well that is some kind of news I suppose but I've known about that for ages. But there are no Slytherin's that I know of that are included in it. Are there?" "No. But I am." "You are part of the group?" "Yeah, I told you that befriending the enemy would come in handy." "I don't really think you befriended that half blood." "The closer I am to Seamus, the closer I get to Harry without seeming suspicious. You obviously didn't think of this considering that they hate you." "Well I have my pride to up hold." "You get more flies with honey than vinegar, Draco" I told him. "What does that mean?" "It means that you can get what you want faster being nice than you can being mean. So that's what I'm doing." "I actually thought that we were doing that Good Cop, Bad Cop thing." "Well I hadn't heard anything about that so you're on your own. What are you smirking at?!" I snapped. "Nothing" he smirked. I rolled my eyes. "I better be getting back or they'll be wondering where I've run off to" I said, "Plus if we get caught in here together, we'll have a lot of questions to answer and I don't really feel like lying my way out of that kind of mess." "Alright. I'll see you later?" "No" I told him defiantly. He smirked and I walked out of the bathroom without him. He was to follow some 5-10 minutes later. As I was walking back to my dorm I kept thinking about Harry's interrogation from earlier. _Who would you support in a war? Dumbledore or Voldemort?_ _The question scared me because at this point, I had no idea._

_ELEVEN_

_It's April and the snow is almost gone. Seamus and I have been fighting. I was meeting Draco and we were caught. I was walking away from another fight. It was Saturday, so no classes. Plenty of time for yelling though. I just kept walking until I reached the lake. Even then I walked on. I reached a point by the lake where I could go no further without going into the Forbidden Forest. I sunk down against a tree and let a single tear fall. I thought about the fight we had just had. ____"Aren't Hufflepuff's supposed to be especially loyal? Why can't you tell me what you were doing?" he yelled. "I am! I am loyal to you Seamus!" I cried as I tried to hold his hands, but he pushed me away. "Then what were you doing?" "Just talking! That's all! He was going to help me with potions!" "Bullshit! Draco Malfoy doesn't help anyone! Anyone else could teach you better. So if you're just going to lie to me then why am I still listening?" "Seamus..." "Get out." "But-" "OUT!" I flinched as I backed away out of the Gryffindor common room. As soon as I was outside the door, the painting slammed and I ran.__ I wouldn't let more than the one tear out, it wasn't good for a Riddle to show weakness. Maybe this was for the best. I wasn't allowed to be with him anyways. But then I thought about the night I stayed with him. How he said he loved me. How he held me. How we kissed like there wasn't anyone else in the world. How our patronus' danced together like the Fox and the Hound. How I loved him. I would never say the words out loud but some part of me knows and keeps trying to tell me that I do. That I love him. ____Father would be furious with me.___

It was dark before I went back to the castle. I arrived at my dorm and Gracie bleated lightly while jumping up on my bed. There was a letter on my pillow. The lettering was of my father's. This is about the fight with Seamus, isn't it? I thought I told Draco to stay out of it. Foul Git. But it wasn't a letter gloating about how he was right. It only had two words on it.

_Happy Birthday_

_TWELVE_

_ I gaped at the letter. It was my sweet sixteen. I had actually forgotten. It didn't really matter since no one here knew either. I watched the beginning of the music video for Lana Del Rey's National Anthem to make myself feel better. But it wasn't long before Sophie burst into the room and dragged me to my feet. "Whoa Sophie, I'm so not in the mood for whatever you're doing!" I told her. "People have been frantically searching for you all day!" She told me. "Why?" "The DA was found!" "By who?" "The assholes from the Inquisitorial Squad!" "Is everyone okay?" "Most kids got away except for Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Ginny, and Luna." "Wait, how do you know about the DA?" I asked. "Well ever since they got bust, the news has flown around the school" We were still running upstairs when we saw Draco scoffing with his buddies. Sophie stopped and turned to go the other way, but I stopped her. I wasn't afraid of him. I walked right up to him and shoved him into the wall, my wand at his neck. "Who do you think you are?" I snapped. "I can get you in trouble you know! I'm a prefect!" he said nervously. "You wouldn't and you won't. You know why? Because you're a spineless cockroach! The scum of the earth! You have caused nothing but trouble and I'm really sick and tired of it!" I was about to jinx him into the next century when a pair of strong arms grabbed my middle and threw me to the ground. I heard the sickly smash of my head hitting the stone floor then my vision went blurry and my head throbbed so loudly that I was deaf to the sounds around me. I sat up, looking around. Draco and Sophie were having a go at Crabbe. Charlotte and Ava turned the corner and saw me on the ground. They ran to the group, Charlotte asked Sophie what happened and Ava sat with me looking at my head. Charlotte and Draco ran in different ways down the corridor. Draco came back __with Madam Pomfrey who immediately began to examining my head. Shortly thereafter, Charlotte came back followed by the same group of Gryffindors that I had befriended plus Luna. Everyone came rushing down at me. Everyone but Seamus was there, which saddened me deeply. They crowded around me and Luna kept looking behind her. "Luna, what is it?" I asked weakly. "Oh nothing, it's just that I'm not sure if Seamus is okay" she told me. "What?" I questioned. "Well, he was running ahead of everyone but when he turned the corner he fell." "Tripped?" "No, he meant to stop. Then he fell right to his knees. He hasn't gotten back up yet." "Will you go check on him? I have enough help over here." "Yeah sure" she said as she stood up and skipped over to the now visible Seamus. He was staring right back at me looking very distraught. "Alright deary, we're going to bring you to the hospital wing now. Okay?" Madam Pomfrey told me. I used Draco and Harry's shoulders to walk to the hospital wing. "Why are you helping her? This is your fault Malfoy!" Harry spat. "Yes, you're right! It is my fault! I should help her. Isn't that the right thing to do, Potter?" Draco snapped back. "Since when do you care what's right?" Harry asked him. "Who said I never did?" Harry didn't have an answer for him. We just walked along in silence until Harry was stopped and replaced. Seamus. He had a determined expression on his face so, like Harry, I decided not to challenge him. Unfortunately, Draco did not know Seamus as well as Harry and I did. "What are you doing here? You've done enough damage today, don't you think that you've done enough to ruin her birthday?" Draco snapped at Seamus. At first Seamus looked like he was going to drop me and punch Draco in the face but when Draco told him that it was my birthday, he turned to me wide eyed. "It's your birthday?!" he asked. I just looked straight ahead, not wanted to look at either of them. When we reached the corridor for the hospital wing, they lead me in silence to the bed Madam Pomfrey had made up for me. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow._

The next thing I knew I was waking up in a bed. Seamus was sitting in a chair next to my bed, his head resting on the mattress as he slept. There was a bouquet of white daisies on the table next to my bed. ___My favourite flowers. __I saw a note beside the vase written in Seamus' writing._

___I'm sorry about ruining your birthday. I hope these will help you to forgive me._

___Seamus____ xx_

___I wanted to turn my head but when I did I felt a sharp, ebbing pain in the back of my head. "I wouldn't try to move if I were you" a voice from my other side said. "Move so I can see you" I told him. It was Draco. He had his famous smirk plastered on his face. "What are you smirking at? Why do you always do that?" "I have my reasons" he told me, smirking even more. I rolled my eyes as I always do when I see the smirk. "How long was I out?" "3 Days. I was starting to worry that I wouldn't ever see-" he suddenly stopped. "See what?" "Nothing, just that there wouldn't be an heir anymore" he covered up. I watched him for as long as I could as he left to alert Madam Pomfrey that I was awake. I leaned back into my pillows and stroked Seamus' soft sandy hair. It wasn't long before he woke up. "Scarlett!" he exclaimed before showering me with kisses. I pushed him away lightly, remembering the last time we spoke. He looked at me and his grin faded away. "Scar..." I looked down so I didn't see him reach up and stroke my face. "I'm so sorry!" I looked away from him. "At least give me the chance to explain why I wouldn't believe you." I looked at him expectingly. "Well he is what the girls 'round here call the 'Slytherin Sex God'. He's rich, pureblood, handsome, charismatic-" "Where are you going with this, Seamus?" I interrupted. "Well, I'm not any of that. Why wouldn't someone like you sneak off to be with someone like that?" "Some one like me?" "If you haven't noticed, you're one of the most beautiful people on this planet. And I'm not just saying that! Everyone thinks that same thing, ask anyone!" I rolled my eyes but responded to his question before, "Because guys like that never stick around. They never really care about the girls they get with. The only thing that matters to them is sex. You're not like that. You're a loyal, devoted, sweet, handsome, cute, perfect little pyrotechnic. I wouldn't have you any other way" I said forcefully, unsmiling. Before he could speak, I grabbed his __necktie and brought him to my face. I kissed him passionately. Little did I know that Draco had been listening the whole time and a tear was currently rolling down his cheek._

_THIRTEEN_

_ "Whoa" I said as I stumbled a bit coming down the stairs. I still hadn't regained all my balance since the fall. Seamus and Sophie caught me, each holding an arm. "I've got her" they both said at the same time. Sophie still hadn't forgiven Seamus for the fights and Seamus had been protective of me since the fights. They were taking me to the Gryffindor common room, I spent a lot of time there. When we arrived, Sophie departed saying that she had homework to do. I doubt she actually did. When Seamus and I walked in, he went to drop off his books in his dorm and I went and sat with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Their conversation stopped as soon as I was in earshot. I sat down, "Hey guys..." I said, questioning tone obvious, "What's going on?" "Nothing" Hermione said instantly. I raised my eyebrow just as Seamus returned. He sat on the couch right next to me, his one arm snaking around my waist and the other clasping my thigh. "Seamus" I looked at him, "They're cooking something up again." He laughed. "Aren't they always?" "Do you think that they'll ever learn that these kind of things never end well?" "Hmm...I doubt it." The trio were laughing, but they all had a look of dread in their eyes.  
The next morning at Divination I approached Harry. "Hello Scarlett" he said cheerfully. "I want in" I said bluntly. He was stunned. "Scarlett you-" "I don't care. I want to help." "But-" "No 'buts'. I haven't had the chance to do anything useful with my magic yet. I'm powerful and smart. You know that." "Seamus isn't allowed to go though." "I wasn't asking about Seamus. I was asking about myself." "Well...okay fine. Be in the Gryffindor tower by 9 pm tonight deal?" "Deal!" I grinned._

We were flying to the Ministry via Thestrals. I had snuck out of Seamus' arms to go with Harry. I changed into appropriate attire for what we were about to do and face. _ /cgi/set?id=66680194__ Now we were high up in the air. I could see the creepy creatures but apparently others couldn't. Luna asked who died and I just stared at her, confused. We were going to the department of Mysteries to look for Sirius. We didn't know what we were going to be facing but I knew that if there were Death Eaters that I could deal with them easily. They wouldn't dare hurt me. We arrived at the department of Mysteries. It was a long hallway that had several doors. "How the hell are we going to find Sirius in a place like this?" I asked no one in particular. We wandered around, checking different doors to see if Harry recognized any of the places. We reach a door that opens to a room filled with crystal balls. We walked into it. "Hey, look at this one" Ron said as he pointed to one on a shelf with Harry and my father's name on it. Harry picked it up and from behind us we heard a cold voice telling him to hand it over. We turned. It was Lucius Malfoy._

_FOURTEEN_

_ I gasped. There were death eaters coming from all directions. Even I became a little frightened. I spotted Hermione and Ron exchange worried glances. I tried to hide in the shadows but I heard a gasp from someone, then some whispering. One of the masked people whispered something into Lucius' ear and he immediately looked at me. "How interesting that we find you here Miss...Williams" he said calmly, knowing full well who I was. Harry stepped in front of me. "Leave her alone" he growled. Lucius turns his attention back to Harry. "Give me the prophecy" he tells Harry. "Where's Sirius?!" Harry snaps. Lucius chuckles evilly. "He was never in trouble. We used your dreams to make you think he was though so that you could lead us right to the prophecy. See the Dark Lord couldn't come and retrieve it himself without being bombarded by Aurors and as much as he wanted to send his 'favourite' he didn't want her to be caught." I knew he meant me but everyone else must've thought Bellatrix or someone, "So hand it over." "Come any closer and I'll smash it" Harry warned. Lucius laughed as he __tried to convince Harry to hand it over. "I've waited fourteen years to find out what this said" Harry said. "I guess I could wait a little longer. NOW!" he yelled as we started smashing the crystal balls around us. All around me I saw Hermione get hit by a stunning spell, Ginny's ankle was broken, Ron was under a spell and Neville's nose was broken in the fray. I wasn't injured considering what the consequences would be for that unfortunate death eater. I helped to carry Hermione into the Brain room that we had passed earlier where Ginny and Luna were stunned which left only Harry, Neville and I to carry on. We ran into a room with an arch where Bellatrix began to torture Neville with the Crucio curse. I yelled, "Stupify!" at Bellatrix. She wasn't going to do that to en entire family. All of a sudden, Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Tonks, and Kingsley appeared. "Harry! Take Neville, Scarlett and the prophecy! Get out of here!" Sirius yelled. But as Harry went to run, he dropped the prophecy and it cracked. Dumbledore shows up and Harry turns to me, "Run Scarlett! Bring Neville!" I didn't question it. I didn't want to have to face the decision of Voldemort vs. Dumbledore so soon. I brought Neville back to the Brain room where Luna, Ginny, and Hermione were unconscious and Ron was out of his wits. I sat there soothing Neville until someone came to get them._

_FIFTEEN_

"I'm so sorry Harry!" I cooed as I hugged him close. Sirius had been killed by Bellatrix. I secretly vowed to avenge him along with Neville's family. It was early that morning when we returned but I wasn't tired. "The only good thing that came out of this was that the Ministry now knows that Voldemort's back" Harry says as I move away from him. "Y-you saw Voldemort?" I asked. He smiled a bit. "Yeah, he was at the Ministry. He showed up right after I sent you away." "Oh, o-okay. Why are you smiling?" "You're one of the only people that aren't afraid of his name. It's refreshing, that's all." "Yeah well, fear of the name only increases the fear of the thing itself right?" I said, "Anyways I'd better get back upstairs so that I'm there when Seamus wakes up." "Okay, see you later Scarlett" he waved farewell as we turned and walked away from each other.

_ I snuck quietly back into his dorm room, but as I approached Seamus' trunk where my bed clothes were he spoke, "Where were you?" I started in fright. "Shit, Seamus I didn't think you were awake" I told him smiling, trying to lighten the tense mood. "Well when I woke up to find that my girlfriend and most of my roommates were missing I didn't really feel like going back to sleep" he said angrily as he stood up. I sighed and walked over to him, putting both of my hands on his upper arms I said, "I was with Harry. We went to the Ministry to save Sirius, who ended up not even in trouble. It was a trap for Harry from the death eaters" He exhaled and backed up until he sat down on his bed, messaging his temples. "Why didn't you tell me?" "Harry told me not to, you would have insisted on coming and our party already had more than enough people." "Well it would've been nice if I just knew. I would have...I don't know. Something. Said goodbye at least." "I didn't want to worry you." "Yeah but letting me wake up alone is fine." "I didn't think you'd wake up." "What if none of you had come back?" "We did." "But let's say you didn't." "I would have. No matter what." "How do you know that?" he asked, his expression a mix of worried and frightened. "Because someone had to come back. I was the only one there that they didn't know anything about." I lied. It was a shitty lie but apparently he bought it because he held his arms out in front of him for me. I walked into them. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck and he hugged my back tightly. He nuzzled his face into my shoulder, as I kissed the top of his head. "Okay, now I'm tired" he said. I started to pull away but he pulled me back. He stood up so that he was carrying me. I snaked my legs around his waist as he turned so that I would be under him on the bed. He turned his face so that our lips connected. He placed me softly on the bed. I shifted up towards the headboard while he crawled over me, our lips still moving in sync. His hands moved to the hem of my shirt and he removed it. I let my hands drift across his stomach, slowly taking off his shirt as well. His hands moved to the clasp of my jeans and mine, to the hem of his pyjama pants. All of a sudden I was just in my lingerie and he was just in his boxers. He left my lips to look at __me and smirked at he leaned in again. "BLOODY HELL!" a boy hollered from the doorway. Seamus mumbled a few profanities while throwing a blanket on top of me so no one could see anything. I looked to see Ron at the door with his hands placed firmly over his eyes. "Merlin's beard, shit man. Seamus, Scarlett. I'm so sorry! But bloody hell guys, this early in the morning?" I was giggling at him while Seamus wheeled him out the door. When Ron was gone and the door was locked, Seamus turned to me, "Well that kind of ruined the mood didn't it?" I laughed as I stood up and kissed him. He held there for a few moments before letting me get dressed again._

_SIXTEEN_

_ "Will we see each other over the break?" Seamus asked. I frowned. "Probably not" I told him sadly, "But there's always letters. Right?" He smiled sadly, "Yeah, I guess." We were sitting on the train that was pulling into King's Cross station. "I want to give you something" he said. I looked at him questioning. He handed me a little velvet bag. I opened it to find a beautiful golden necklace. The charm on it was a four leaf clover. __ "Seamus!" I exclaimed happily. "Let me put it on you" he said as he took it and wrapped it around my neck. I picked up the charm off my neck to look at it before turning to him. I took his face in my hands and brought it to mine. I felt the train stop just as we were getting into it. We stood up as the train stopped but when I tried to walk forward, he grabbed my hand and pulled me back. He kissed me immediately. Long and hard. Strong and passionate. We parted after too short of a time. We walked off the train and with one final hug and kiss, we parted ways. Him with his mum and me to the fancy car waiting outside. "Took you long enough" Draco snarled. "Don't get snappy with me" I told him. "Whatever." "What the fuck is wrong with you, Draco?!" "Nothing." "Bull." "We can discuss this later." "As soon as we arrive." I told him. He scowled at me. "That's an order" I finished._

I walked to my room. I let him unpack before coming over. I wanted to change anyways. Just in case Father showed up. _ /cgi/set?id=66713689__ I put on the song Video Games by Lana Del Rey and I sat down on the sofa in my room looking through Pride and Prejudice. "Oh Mr. Darcy, give it up. You love her" I mumbled to no one in particular. "Who's Mr. Darcy?" Draco asked. I looked up to see him at my door. "Never mind. Come in" I told him. I stood up and turned down the music. He sat down on the sofa. "Did you get in a fight?" I asked, getting right to the point. He looked at the ground angrily. "No" he finally answered. "Did your dad do something? Do you miss Umbridge? Cause I for one am glad to see her go." "No, no. It's nothing like that." "Then what?" I demanded. He looked up at me and his scowl deepened. "Draco!" I cried, "What is your PROBLEM?!" "That necklace! Okay? The necklace" he admitted. I was shocked. My hand instantly went to Seamus' necklace. "What about the necklace?" I asked suspiciously. "The person who gave it to you isn't good for you. No. Let me finish" he said when I tried to interrupt. "You are the Dark Princess. Lady Scarlett. The Dark Lady. Lord Voldemort's daughter and heir. Does he know that? I don't think so. He didn't even know what day your birthday was on! Yet you devote yourself to him. All in all. You forgive every stupid thing he does. Why, Scarlett? Why are you still doing this? And don't tell me it's to get closer to Potter. I know that's not the reason" he barked. I looked up at him sadly. I knew the answer. It was simple really. Whether I would be able to mutter it was the real question. He knew the answer. He just wanted to hear it. I didn't know that it killed him to know how I felt about Seamus. I opened my mouth to say it but nothing came out. I took a deep breath before uttering, "I love him."_

_SEVENTEEN_

_ We were sitting at dinner in my dining room. We were celebrating Draco and my return from school, even Father was there. We were eating dessert before the topic came up. A personal record for __him. "Scarlett, you're still with that half-blood Irish boy. Correct?" Father asked me. "Yes, Father" I responded. "It was nice of him to give you something to remember him by." "It was, wasn't it." "How is the movement on Harry Potter?" "As your death eaters have probably informed you, I was there with him at the Ministry." He was shocked by this. "No. None of my Death Eaters informed me of this in the slightest" he said coldly as he glared at the people around the table who shifted nervously. "We thought it was best if the girl told you herself my lord" Yaxley said. Father turned back to me. "And why did you do that?" "They trust me, Father. Fully" I smirked. He smiled. "Really?" "Completely. No one would even to question my loyalties. They even admitted me to Dumbledore's Army." "I have to say, I'm impressed. My daughter has succeeded better in 6 months that Draco didn't in 5 years. Like Father like daughter." he announced proudly. I smiled at his praise._

After dinner I asked Bellatrix to come with me to speak privately. I brought her to the ballroom. "What can I do for you, m'lady?" she asked while bowing. I took out my wand and yelled, "Crucio!" An hour later, I let up. I walked away leaving her to wither in pain. As I walked out the door she whimpered, "Why?" I turned around slowly. "You must pay the consequences for your actions" I told her coldly. When I arrived in my bedroom I changed out of my dress and into something I could wear to bed. I decided on a t-shirt and my favourite red lace panties. _ /cgi/set?id=66717627__ Coming out of my bathroom, I walked over to my bed and shrieked. Draco was in my bed. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" I yelled as I searched frantically for something to cover up. He snickered as he looked up from the book he was reading. "You should get used to this. Your father ordered it" he told me. My eyes widened in shock. I knew that my father's word was final. "No funny business or I rip off your dick. Understand?" I warned. He laughed and patted the empty space next to him. "I promise." I walked over to him and sat down. When he put an arm around me I hit him but he just said, "It'll be more comfortable." I sighed knowing that he was right. I relaxed into his chest. "What are you reading?" I asked. "It's more like trying to read but, Pride and Prejudice. It's really old english. How are you supposed to understand this?" he complained. I giggled. "It's the best book ever written" I told him. "In that case, I'll do my best." I raised an eyebrow but he just cleared his throat, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife..." I drifted off lying on his chest, to the sound of his voice reading my favourite book._

_EIGHTEEN_

_ When I woke up the next morning, I was alone. __Had Draco just been a hallucination? No, that's impossible. __Just as I was thinking about it, I heard my shower turn on. I sighed and threw myself down onto the pillows. __Why did Father order Draco to stay with me? I'll have to send a letter to him later today. __I jumped up and started to rummage through my closet. Father wasn't going to be here today so I wanted to wear something more casual. I found some galaxy shorts, a black tank top and some high tops. I grabbed some jewelry from my vanity and did my makeup and hair all before Draco was even out of the bathroom. __ lazy_day/set?id=66759345__ I walked up to the closed door and knocked on it, as soon as my knuckles hit the wood the door opened. Draco was standing there dripping wet in only a towel wrapped just under his hip bones. I gaped at him. "Oh...umm..." I stammered, not able to take my eyes away. He smirked. "Like what you see?" he asked arrogantly. I blushed as I turned away. "I'm going downstairs, join me when you dressed" I said as I walked to the door. "What fun is that?" I threw him a questioning look. "Wearing clothes I mean" he explained. I blushed again. "Just do it." "Okay, Nike." I rolled my eyes and closed the doors behind me. I was smiling about the event as I walked down to the dining room until I past a mirror. I looked at my reflection to see the golden necklace, reminding me of the boy I love. __What have you gotten me into Father? ___

_ All through the day, Draco threw winks at me, smirked in my direction. I caught him staring a few times and whenever I did, he blew me a kiss. We were sitting in the living room __ . /i/pix/2009/06/10/article-0-0547DED9000005DC-184_ __ He was teaching me how to play wizard's chess. "I don't even understand muggle chess! How do you expect me to understand this?!" I cried out, exasperated. I stood up to walk away angrily but Draco took my hands and pulled me back onto the ottoman. "You just have to be patient, here let me try to explain it again" he soothed. Just then an owl flew into the room and landed on the chess board. Facing me, it dropped a letter. It was from my Father. __I haven't even sent him that letter complaining about Draco in my bed yet, what's this about? __I smiled at Draco, "I'll be right back." "Is it from Finnigan?" he asked coldly. Startled by his change in tone I eyed him suspiciously. "No, it's from my father" I informed him. His expression changed immediately from bitter to understanding. "Hurry back then" he smiled. I walked from the living room to the study __ . /-sEqyjl8ZPsM/UKp-1i0IBuI/AAAAAAAAWQw/96cDpEqWeKo/s1600/library%2Bhome%2Boffice%2Bwood%2Bpanel%2Bdark%2Bmoody%2Bbrown%2Bbrass%2Bchandelier%2Bdesk%2Bstudy% __ I sat at the large wooden desk to open the letter._

_It has come to my attention that you do not have any symbol for who you are. Please choose one and have Draco tattoo it onto your skin. This will not only represent you as the princess, but also your alliance to me._

I leaned back on the chair. _What if I don't want to be allied with you? _I put my head in my hand and called for Draco.

_NINETEEN_

_ "Right here" I told him as I lifted up my shirt to show the left side of my ribcage. I had chosen a crown as my symbol. I didn't really have a choice whether I wanted it or not so I chose a place that people wouldn't see as much. Sure, Seamus would ask questions but that was fine. Draco pointed his wand at the spot and muttered something to himself and after a few dreadfully painful moments, I looked down to see a pretty crown on my torso. __ images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQzoxAaVo_IJp9_hlIwRzlf3ptwrHK8ilkop_DGya2VQecdMZu3__ I smiled at Draco. "I've always wanted tattoos" I told him. He grinned "Then show me which ones you want" he told me. I beamed. "Really?!" "Absolutely." "Wait should I tell my father?" "Just tell him it'll help back up the crown story." "Perfect!" I squealed as I went to run out the door to grab my list. __I didn't think that I'd be able to get them until I was 18. Awesome. __I stopped at the door, turned around and tackled Draco with a hug. He was so shocked that it took him a while to respond. "Okay Scar, no go get your list. This can be done later" he told me. I paused as I raised my eyebrow to him. "I'm sleeping with you all summer..." he said nervously. He frowned when he saw my expression, "I'm sorry, Scarlett." "Don't be" I told him, "It's not your fault. I'll be right back."_

10 minute later I had 6 new tattoos. 3 of which were Disney inspired. There was one behind my ear, _ upload/278026976966390314_LDWUcAQc_ __ one on my wrist, __ upload/89579480059104362_f3894fxd_ __ one on my ankle, __ upload/81698180711521939_PuaewE8o_ __ one on my other foot, __ upload/95349717081546183_9IKosrgZ_ __ one on my other wrist, __ upload/233765036879171967_EuCQhZL5_ __ and one on the back of my neck. __ upload/177188566558876676_MWIgve3l_ __ "Now, you're a rebel" Draco announced. "Do you have any tattoos?" I asked. "No, but I'm bound to receive the dark mark any day __now." "I'll put a good word in with the big man if you'd like" I told him, winking. He smiled slightly, watching me as I sprawled myself across my bed with loving eyes._

_TWENTY_

Weeks past, I wrote to Seamus every other day. I really missed him. I could only send letters at night when Draco was asleep though, or Draco would get snippy and angry. I hadn't seen my father since the day we got back but today we were having dinner. I woke up before Draco that morning, "Draco, wake up!" I yelled as I began to jump on the bed. "What..?" he groaned. "How can you sleep on a day like this?!" "Well, I close my eyes. Then I think of my favourite things in the world, and then BAM. I'm in dreamland." "You're no fun!" I hollered as I continued to jump on the bed. "Erg! Scar! Stop it!" he whined. "Jamais!" "You know, I'm torn about your ability to speak french. Sometimes it's sexy, other times it's annoying. This is one of those times where it's annoying. What does 'jamais' mean?" "I will _**never**__ tell you__!" I giggled. I was still jumping on the bed. He sat up straight and kicked out my legs from under me. I screeched as I fell. I landed right next to him, so he rolled over and pinned my arms to the bed and the rest of me down with his body. His face was almost uncomfortably close to mine. I could smell traces of the mouthwash he had used the previous night. I could practically taste it. "Stop. Jumping. On. The. Bed." he warned huskily. "And if I say no?" "Then you'll suffer the consequences." "I think I could take you" I smirked. "Unless I tickled you." My eyes went wide. I'm extremely ticklish and one you get me going, I'm ticklish everywhere. "You wouldn't dare!" "Oh but my dear Scarlett, I would." With that he began to tickle me everywhere. I laughed like crazy and soon there were tears rolling down my face. Suddenly I thought of a plan. I grabbed his face with both hands and he paused. I brought his face close to mine and right before our lips touched I flipped him over and pinned down __**his **__arms with my legs so that he couldn't move. "Gotcha!" I mocked as I put my hands on my hips. I looked pretty hot at that moment considering that I was only in underwear and a t-shirt. __ cgi/set?id=66880492__ No wonder he fell for it so easily. "That was mean!" he protested. "My I remind you that I'm the daughter of the Dark Lord? I don't do nice" I teased. He stuck out his tongue at me so I pushed it back into his mouth. He bit me when my finger was in his mouth. "Hey! That's mine! Give it back!" I told him. He just shook his head no. I scrunched my face in frustration. "Is this some new kind of fetish?" a voice from behind me asked. I started in fright, while Draco (apparently able to move his arms) pulled me into the bed and he moved his body a little in front of mine. I remembered Seamus doing that a few times throughout the school year. It was Bellatrix. "What do you want?" Draco snarled, all playfulness gone. "I was sent to retrieve you. So get dressed" she ordered as she left. If Bellatrix was back, that meant that father was as well. I jumped out of bed and grabbed the outfit I had set out weeks earlier. __ black_gold_snakes/set?id=66882029__ Draco raced to his section of my closet. He had essentially moved in. I made a mental reminder to ask father why Draco was here. Draco came out from the bathroom as I was putting the final touches on my makeup. "Ready?" I asked. He was smirking. "Oh what now?" I asked smiling a little. He motioned for me to turn around. I spun. He laughed. "No, turn around." "Okay..." I did as I was told and I felt his hand on my shoulder and the other zip up the back of my dress. "By the way, you're not wearing a bra. Are you aware?" he whispered cheekily into my ear. I smiled from the corners of my lips. "Yes, Draco. I did" I told him suggestively as I walked towards the door. _

_ When we reached the top of the grand staircase leading to the foyer, we were greeted by Bellatrix. She looked us both up and down. "Power couple" she muttered, "Okay, link arms" she told us. I put my arm through his and looked at him as we walked down the stairs together and into the front room. __ The windows were closed. ____Is he like a vampire or something? I hope it's not hereditary. __Everyone stood as we entered the room. Our parents were beaming. Well, the Malfoy's were. My father just smiled slightly. Which was beaming for him. We __walked together towards them. The other death eaters were dismissed. "Hello father" I said. "Hello, my lord" Draco greeted him. Father looked at me again, completely ignoring Draco. "Why are you all covered up? Poor Draco has to use more of his imagination than he should have to. I have something I would like to discuss with young Draco here. While we're talking, change" he told me. I curtsied and left. ____Good to see you too father._

_TWENTY ONE_

_ Later at dinner, I had changed into a dress that showed much more skin than necessary. I changed my hair and makeup to go along with it. __ cgi/set?id=66884634__ It had been a quiet dinner. The death eaters surrounding the table didn't really leave time for 'Father Daughter' time. Draco was distracted and seemed on edge after the talk her had with our parents. In the middle of dessert, Yaxley arrived and whispered something into my father's ear. Father stood and declared he was leaving. "But, Father!" I protested. "Do not question me, Scarlett" he scolded. I cast my eyes downward, "Yes, father." As soon as he left, I stood up so abruptly that my chair was knocked over. I swirled around and stomped up to my room. Anything that got into my way was pushed aside. I slammed my door when I got in. Leaning against my vanity, I looked at myself. I barely recognized myself. My usually neat curls were frayed everywhere. I stood there for what seemed were hours. I didn't even hear the door open or close but suddenly, Draco was behind me. "Have I ever told you that you have beautiful eyes?" he asked me. Without waiting for a response he continued, "They're unlike any I've ever seen. Blue-green on the outside but in the middle, honey brown. They're beautiful, and so is the rest of you." I looked at him while he spoke. He had never said anything like that before, not even to his mother. "I have news I have to share with you, and you're not going to like it" he warned me. I turned to face him but he took my hand and lead me to the couch. We sat down next to each other. "I-we-you-us...um..I have to kill Dumbledore!" he said suddenly, and his face said that he didn't mean to tell me that. "Is that what your father told you about?" I asked. "Um...yeah..." he said nervously. __"It'll be okay Draco." "How do you know that?" "I just do." "Well he said that he'll be mailing you some instructions during the school year." "What? Why couldn't he tell me himself?!" I cried, getting angry again. "You weren't actually supposed to know until he sent them. That was my mistake but I had to tell you. I don't like keeping secrets from you" he told me, calming me down instantly. "Do you want to go to bed?" he asked. "Yeah, it's been a long day" I said as I slipped off my heels and threw them aside. I had a feeling that I wouldn't see my father for the rest of the summer. ____But I'm okay with that. _

_TWENTY TWO_

_ Lucius was arrested right before we had planned to go to Diagon Alley. Narcissa Draco and I went anyways. That morning I put on my cropped black tee, high waisted shorts and black booties. __ london/set?id=66138419__ I tucked the clover necklace into my pocket, but soon after I replaced my triangle one with it. I saw that Fred and George's Joke shop was up so I excused myself from the Malfoy's company. They told me to meet them at Borgin and Burkes in a half hour. As I walked around the shop, I smiled widely. The boys had invented the coolest things. I spotted Hermione and Ginny and snuck up behind them. "Whatcha lookin' at ladies?" I said, smiling. They spun instantly. "SCARLETT!" they yelled at the same time while choking me with hugs. "How was your summer?!" Ginny asked excitedly. "I haven't revived a single owl from you missy! Is Seamus really the only one that gets special treatment?" Hermione teased. "Well look who it is" George said as he and Fred came to speak with us. "Little Miss Scarlett Williams" Fred finished for his twin. They went on to explain to the other girls about the items they were holding, love potions. I prodded Hermione when I saw Cormac McLaggen staring at her. She immediately put the vile of the potion she was holding back on it's rack. I laughed. "Scarlett! How are you?" Dean asked as he approached me __extending his arms for a hug. When we separated, I asked him, "Is your best friend anywhere to be found?" "No, he's not here until tomorrow. Sorry Scar. He'll be upset he missed you" he told me sadly. I looked at the time. "Oh, well that's okay. I have to go now anyways. See you guys at school!" I called as I rushed out the door. When I saw Narcissa's expression as I approached them, I rearranged my expression. I calmly took Draco's arm and walked to Borgin and Burkes on Knockturn Alley. I confidently walked into the store while the Malfoy's kept looking around, on guard. As Mr. Borgin was explaining the general idea of how Draco was going to smuggle death eaters into Hogwarts this year, I zoned out and looked around the store. I saw a big window and spotted some people looking in. I prodded Fenrir Greyback and told him to go check it. He ended up just closing the shade. I breathed a sigh of relief. ____No one can find out who I am. No one._

_ I arrived at King's cross with my necklace tucked under my pink shirt. __ kings_cross/set?id=65919910__ My new heels clicked against the floors and as I walked a few boys that were pushing Hogwarts trunks whistled in my direction. I smiled and waved in their direction. They began to follow me and call out to me, "Blow us a kiss sweetheart!" I smiled but I ignored them. I reached the post to run through and calmly walked through it. Since I was a half hour early, I had no problem finding a compartment. Gracie was excited to be back on the train. I let her run around and she loved it on here. I put in my earphones and pulled out the book Draco had gotten for me when we had visited London over the summer. It was a twist on Pride and Prejudice. It was called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I had already read it twice by myself and once aloud to Draco. He liked it better than the original. He said Elizabeth was a much more appealing figure than she had been in the original. I'm pretty sure he just gussied up the fact that he thought she was a badass and he liked it. I had to agree though, Mr. Darcy as a kick ass zombie killer was definitely awesome. I got to the part about the Bennett girls fighting off the zombies during the assembly and since I had my earphones in and was so engrossed in the book that I didn't notice anyone at my door. Only when a small paper crane landed in the crease of my book, did I look up to see him at the door. His hands were in his jean pockets and his clean white t-shirt was covered by a green adidas jacket with yellow embellishments. I looked him up and down while whistling. The song playing was appropriate to what I was thinking; Va Va Voom by Nicki Minaj "Looking good, Ireland" I told him, impressed. "I don't see you all summer and that's what I get as a hello?" he teased. I put the book down and turned my iPod off. I stood up to face him now that he had come closer. "Hello, Mr. Finnegan" I told him. "Miss Williams" he said as he mimed taking off a hat. "By the way, since when do you, or anyone else, call me 'Ireland'?" he asked, amused. I shrugged as I brought my face closer to his. He smirked as he came closer to me, his hands slowly moving to my waist. I was looked away from his baby blues to see Dean making a funny face by the window. I giggled slightly. Seamus raised an eyebrow and as he turned around, Dean ran for it. I laughed harder. He looked at me, "Dean was doing something behind my back, wasn't he?" he asked. Without waiting for a response he turned away to run down the train looking for his best friend. I laughed as I turned back to my seat. I looked out of the window of the now moving train. I always found British countryside breath taking. _

_ Soon, there was a rap on the door of my compartment. I turned to see two of the boys from the platform. "Hello darling, fancy seeing you here" said the chubbier one, "I'm Marcus Belby and this here is Michael Corner. What's your name, gorgeous?" "Excuse me boys, but are you bothering this lovely young lady?" said a voice from behind turned to look at the blonde boy who had spoken. Draco. Relieved, I smiled. "No, we were just talking." "Did she invite you here?" "Well...no." "Then you'd best be off" he ordered. As the boys sped away I began to clap. "Very good! Very good!" I said. He bowed. "Thank you, thank you so much! Oh. Hi. She's all yours" Draco said suddenly. I stood up and looked out of the door to see Seamus staring Draco down as Draco walked away. "I leave for five minutes and that git shows up" Seamus growled. "Listen, Seamus. He was helping me out" I told him. He turned his dirty look to me now. "Some other guys were hitting on me so Draco came over __here and told them to scram. That's all he was doing. You would have done the exact some thing" I explained. "Well I can. I'm your boyfriend. He doesn't have the right!" he snapped. People started opening up their doors to try to hear the argument. "Come inside here, Seamus. People can hear us" I told him. "Yeah? Well they can MIND THEIR OWN!" he bellowed into the hallway. The other doors closed almost instantly. He came in anyways. "Listen, Scar. He's had his eye on yah ever since you walked through Hogwarts doors for the first time" he told me. ____Actually, before that... __"I know it's hard to believe, but Draco and I are just friends and I intend to keep it that way. He can hit on me as much as he wants but in the end, I will still come back to you." "That makes me feel like a last resort" he mumbled. I got up and closed the curtains on the windows of the compartment. When I turned around he was looking at me oddly. I walked right to where he was sitting and straddled his waist. Wrapping my arms around his neck I whispered into his ear, "We've been together for the first time for 2 months and you want to fight over something as silly as Draco?" He looked at me. "I'm being possessive and protective again aren't I?" "Yup." "Sorry. I can't help it when other guys are hitting on you left and right." "I know. I'm not much of help either" I admitted thinking of all the nights Draco and I shared a bed. All the times he saw me in my underwear, just in a towel. All of a sudden, Seamus smiled from ear to ear. One of his hands moved to my neck to pull out the necklace. "You're wearing it!" he exclaimed. "Of course I am!" I said smiling. He pulled me roughly to him and our lips collided. His hands clamped my face on each side, holding me to him. He bit my lip and a small moan escaped my lips. Satisfied, he brought his lips to my neck and began sucking on my skin. I felt his tongue brushing against the soft skin, then his teeth. He bit lightly at first but gradually harder. I knew that there was going to be a mark there. I found it funny how close he was to seeing my Peter Pan tattoo, but he didn't. I smiled at him before moving my face to his neck and slowly nibbling the skin. After I knew that there was going to be a mark, I kissed the spot and pulled my head up to kiss his lips. When we pulled apart, I leaned my forehead against his as he whispered, "I missed you this summer." I smirked. "I missed you too." ____More than you can imagine. _

_TWENTY THREE_

_ Considering that we were a little distracted, Seamus and I were a little late getting off the train. As we got into the last carriage with Dean, Ginny, Luna, and Neville, I saw Draco being questioned about the walking stick his father had given to him before being taken to Askaban. I wanted to go defend him but I knew that Seamus would rage. I almost did before I saw Snape cover for him. He was to watch over Draco while Draco carried out the deed we was given by father. Draco had been so proud when he got his dark mark that whenever he didn't have to look proper in the least (so whenever we were hanging out by ourselves in my room) he would take off his shirt so that it would show. He always made the joke about showing off my own mark. Since that required me going topless as well I declined. ____Why are you thinking about Draco when the boy you love is sitting right next to you? Cause you're an asshole. That's why. __I was so lost in thought that Seamus had to nudge me before I could respond to Luna's question. "Sorry?" I asked. "You seem distracted. Did your fight with Seamus bother you?" she asked bluntly as per usual. Seamus shifted uncomfortably. "No, not at all. I'm fine. How did you hear about that anyways?" I asked her. "Well the whole train heard Seamus yelling so I figured that since you were sharing a compartment together, that it must've been you he was yelling at. Again." "Oh, okay well we're fine. Right?" I replied as I turned to Seamus. He was white as a sheet and his eyes were clouded. "Seamus, a-are you alright?" I asked. "Why don't you come back to the Gryffindor tower after dinner?" Ginny suggested. "Yeah, okay.." I told her._

_ After dinner I walked up to the tower with Neville. Seamus had rushed ahead after dinner was over and I didn't know the password so I walked with Neville who kept repeating it so that he remembered it. If he didn't, I knew that I would. "Baubles" he said proudly. The portrait opened widely __and he grinned. I walked in and headed towards Ginny, and a few other of her friends from her year. When she saw me she pointed upstairs. When I gave her a puzzled look she gave me an urgent one whilst saying, "Hurry." I ran up the stairs that lead to the boys dorms. As I approached the dorm that Seamus shared with Dean, Neville, Ron, and Harry, Dean walked out of the door like he was on a mission. When he saw me, his eyes widened. I stopped in my tracks, "Is it safe?" He took my arm and practically dragged me to the door and shoved me in. Seamus was pacing with his arms crossed. ____Uh-oh. That's never a good sign. __"Hi?" I said. He turned to me abruptly. His eyes still cloudy from the carriage. He actually looked even more distraught. "Seamus...its' the first day back! What's happened?" I asked, concerned. "Are you going to break up with me?" he asked. I had to take a double take. "Sorry...what?" "Personally, I would have left meself in the dust by now." "Stop talking like that! What's going on?" "I'm always yellin' at you!" His accent was thick from spending time with his family, it was really hot. I really wished that he was in a better mood. "Is this about Draco?" I asked. "No! This is 'bout how I'm always fighting with you! I shouldn't be!" "You're all upset about the fact that we fight?" "YES!" he said forcefully. I smiled slightly as I took his hand and lead him to his bed. We sat down and I sighed. "Well, what is love if not worth fighting for? By fighting we find out things about each other. Character traits that we never would have known otherwise. For example, I know that my flirty personality makes you possessive and that I have to be conscious about what I say and do with other guys.__" I told him. He smiled. "So you don't mind that we fight?" he asked. "No, I've never minded. As long as you keep coming back to me, I won't care." "You think I'm pretty silly now, don't you?" he asked. "No, just considerate" I smiled as he kissed me. I had to pull back quickly though. "Sorry, babe. Sophie is already going to kill me for not being at the dorm on time" I told him as I flew from the room. I was already by the kitchens when I realized that I had called him 'babe'. I remembered another saying that I had thought of in middle school; ____If I call you 'babe', I'm serious about you._

_TWENTY FOUR_

_ As I smiled at the thought, my hand absent mindingly played with the necklace around my neck. I was so busy thinking about Seamus that I forgot about the fury of Sophie, Charlotte, and Ava. I walked to our dorm and was hit by an unexpected fest of screams and squeals. "WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU!?" Sophie yelled at me. Charlotte and Ava were just squealing and laughing while tackling me with hugs. "Oh calm down, Soph. We know where she was" Ava said smiling. Sophie rolled her eyes and opened her arms expectantly. I jumped into them, almost knocking us over. "Whoa, muscles!" she told me. "I've been reteaching myself rugby over the summer and it requires a lot of conditioning" I explained. It wasn't even a lie. I loved rugby and I knew that I wasn't going to be allowed to play anymore because of my move. Plus father thinks that it's not proper for young ladies to be playing such violent sports. I decided not to tell him that I used to be an award winning hockey player. "You, missy, are a terrible letter writer!" Charlotte told me. I laughed. "Yeah I know, I have to practice. I'll get better eventually" I told her as we made our way over to Sophie's bed. As soon as I sat down, Gracie jumped up onto my lap. "Did you guys hear about the death eaters in London?" Ava whispered loudly. ____Yes. __"No, what happened?" I asked. "They attacked a muggle bridge! A bunch died" she explained. Sophie gasped. "Oh no! They shouldn't be doing that. Magical people and muggles shouldn't mix like that" Sophie said. "Then explain Muggle-borns and half bloods" I challenged her, a little offended. "That's a valid point, but to attack muggles just for the sake of attacking muggles isn't right" Charlotte told me. "Well what do you expect? They're __**death eaters**__" I spat. "Okay, Scar! We get it. I'm sorry I ever brought it up" Ava exclaimed. "I need some air" I announced as I left the room, Gracie in tow. I walked all the way up to the astronomy tower. I leaned against the balcony and breathed in the cool air. "I thought that I was the only one that came up here" said a voice from the shadows. I jumped and pulled out my wand. "You are. I've never done this before" I told him. "Well, there's a first for everything. Plus I think you'll be up here a lot this year" "How do you know that?" __"Just a __hunch" he said as he moved into the moonlight. "Hello, Draco" I say. "Hello, Scarlett" he said as he walked to me. "The stars are particularly beautiful tonight, I think" he says as he leans against the balcony next to me, looking up. I turned and looked as well. "Yeah they are" I agreed. "Did he yell at you because of me?" he asked. I looked at him, startled by the question. "You're a git. Why do you care?" I joked. "Because if there's anything I actually care about in this world, it's you" he told me, his eyes sincere. "T-thank you" I stammered, surprise at his sudden sweetness. "You should get back to your dorm. It's almost curfew. Plus I don't you to get caught up here with me" He told me. "Well then shouldn't you be going then too?" I asked him. "I'll go soon." I walked to the stairs but before I left I turned to him. "This year is going to be tough, isn't it?" I asked. He looked at me. "I'm afraid so, Scar. I'm afraid so."_

_When I returned to my dorm, the girls turned to stare at me. "My father was gone most of the summer. I was just mad. I took it out on you guys and for that I'm sorry" I told them just as I had rehearsed in my head. It was sort of true. Their faces instantly softened. "Oh, Scar! We didn't know! We should be the ones saying sorry!" Ava said as they ran over to me squishing me in a group hug. I changed into my pyjamas and got into my bed with Gracie. It was oddly cold and empty. ____Right. No Draco.__ To my great surprise, I missed his embrace. ____Yup. You're an asshole._

_TWENTY FIVE_

_ "Come on! Hurry up!" Sophie whined as I changed out of my uniform and put on something more comfortable. __ cgi/set?id=67034229__ "You're meeting my boyfriend! Not yours!" she teased as I touched up my makeup. I smiled and walked to her. She grabbed my hand and she raced to the common room. Right before we entered it, she paused. "How do I look?" she asked nervously. I smiled and looked into her big brown eyes. "You look beautiful. Now go get 'em tiger!" I encouraged. She beamed and opened the door. We walked over to Charlotte and Ava who were standing with a cute ginger boy. He didn't look anything like any of the Weasley's though so I figured he wasn't related. He smiled when he saw Sophie. He hugged her when we reached them. With his arm still around her, she introduced us. "Collin, this is Scarlett. She's my other best friend" she told him, "Scarlett, this is Collin. My boyfriend." She was blushing. I smiled and shook his hand. "It's a pleasure" I said. He smiled. "Are you ready to go, sweetheart?" he asked Sophie. They were going to Hogsmeade on a date. "Yeah...oh wait! I forgot my purse. I'll be right back!" She says as she runs back to the dorm. "You're in Ravenclaw right?" I asked him. "Yeah" he replied. I moved to him menacingly. "Then you'll be smart enough not to hurt that precious little angel. If you do, you'll hear from me. That's a promise" I warned him. When I heard the dorm door open, I back up. He was frightened, so he walked to Sophie and took her hand. He practically dragged her out of the common room. As soon as the barrels closed again, Ava and Charlotte burst out laughing. "I feel bad for the bloke. You're petrifying when you're protective" Charlotte said through giggles. I laughed. ____You have no idea how terrifying I can be, Charlotte. No idea._

_ Professor Slughorn dismissed our class after he awarded Harry with a vile of Liquid Luck. My potion had been rubbish, but not as bad as Seamus'. To my great amusement, his blew up in his face. "Very close, Miss Williams. But not as good as Mr. Potter's over here" Slughorn told me. ____Damn it. So close, yet so far away. __But as the rest of the class left, I waved for Seamus to go on. I'd be right there to help him clean up, but I wanted to ask Slughorn something first. "Ah, Miss Williams. Very good potion you brewed for me today. Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked. "Yes professor, see I'm just very curious about the Amortentia. I was just wondering what I'd smell. Is it alright if I..?" I asked. "Oh, of course! Go right ahead" he told me as he lifted the lid off. ____Hm..mandarins, rain, nutella, Seamus' cologne and something else...oh. Well fuck. __I backed up quickly. I smiled weakly at Slughorn. "Thank you, Professor" I told him as I left quickly. I heard a faint, "You're welcome" as I hurried down __the hall thinking of the last scent. ____Draco's cologne._

_TWENTY SIX_

_ I sat with Hermione on the bleachers as Quiddich tryouts began. "He'll be fine" I reassured her. She looked at me puzzled. "You know who I'm talking about" I winked. She blushed and turned back to the tryouts. I watched as they went through some drills. Seamus was a fair flyer as he was trying out for chaser. Ron was okay but Cormac was smooth. I heard Hermione whisper a confundus charm as a ball came hurdling towards Cormac. He shot out of the way of it, letting the ball pass through the hoop. I giggled as I whispered to her, "Cheater." She just looked down while blushing a little._

_ "It's okay, babe" I told Seamus when he was told he didn't make the team. "This way, I don't have to be worried about you getting hurt. You do that enough off the pitch!" I said. He looked at me, "You were worried?" "Of course! Harry said that in third year, he fell off his broom! And that in second year, he lost all the bones in his arm! I don't want you to get hurt!" "Well, when you put it that way" he said as a smile pulled across his lips. I grinned as I flung my arms around his neck. "Good!" I said as I kissed him on the cheek. His face turned bright red as Ginny giggled from across the Gryffindor common room._

_ Seamus held the door for me as we entered the Three Broomsticks. I shrugged off my coat and put it behind the chair at a table off in the corner. A waiter came around and we ordered Butterbeers. I saw Dean and Ginny off in a corner being all cutesy. When I spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione enter I laughed at Ron's reaction to his sister and Dean. "Whatcha laughing at?" Seamus asked. "Look at Ron. He's freaking out" I showed him. He laughed too. "Okay, so I have serious question to ask you" Seamus said. I looked at him intently. "Okay so I've been wonderin' this for a while now and I didn't know how to ask it cause I didn't know how you'd take it" he continued. I waved for him to carry on, my curiosity building. "What is Goofy? Donald is a duck, Micky's a mouse. What's Goofy?" He smiled. I burst out laughing. "Really Seamus!?" I laughed. "Yes, now don't tell me he's a dog. Pluto's a dog and Goofy wears a hat and drives a car" he told me. I was laughing so hard that tears were forming in my eyes. "You're an idiot!" I teased. "Yes, well I'm your idiot" he smirked, winking. "Am I interrupting something?" Professor Slughorn asked. I wiped away some tears as I sobered up looking up at the professor. Still smiling I told him, "Not at all, what can we do for you?" "Well, I have been known in the past to hold the occasional dinner party for ____select __students and I was wondering if you'd accept an invitation if one was sent your way, Williams." "Oh, yes sir. That sounds wonderful!" I told him. "Good to see you Flintly" he told Seamus as he left. "Teacher's pet" Seamus coughed. "Oh shush" I scolded him as I stuck out my tongue at him._

_ I waited for Draco at out new meeting spot, the astronomy tower. "Scarlett" he greeted. "Draco. That was a hell of an attempt at Dumbledore's life" I told him, unimpressed. "Well what else am I going to do?" he spat. "Oh I don't know, the killing curse?" I told him sarcastically. "This is my task. You are not involved." "My father gave me specific instructions to make sure you carried out the task with grace. So yes, I am involved." "Well I don't need your help." "If you're just going to hex someone else then yes, you do need my help." He glared at me, "I have other plans." "Like what? Hex a teacher?" "No. I can still use the vanishing cabinet." "And what? Shove him in there until he runs out of air?" I snapped. "I'm done here" he said as he turned away. "Don't just kill him, Draco. This is an assassination. Do your family and my family proud" I told him as he left._

_TWENTY SEVEN_

_ I got ready for Slughorn's dinner party at Seamus' dorm. We were going to hang out and I didn't __want to have to leave early to change. So as we were talking, I got up and slipped off my uniform and put on the outfit I had laid out for the occasion. __ cgi/set?id=67041610__ Seamus stopped talking when I began to change. I thought he had turned away or something but when I looked, he was blatantly staring. I placed his necklace on his bedside table and leaned in closely to his lips but before they touched I whispered, "I'll be back to collect that later." He smirked as I backed up and left._

_ I sat there as the ice cream was brought out. I was sitting in between Neville and one of the Carrow twins. Belby had been eying me all dinner. For once, I was pleased to hear Slughorn's voice. "So, Williams. Was that your boyfriend I saw in the Three Broomsticks? Or am I being nosy?" he asked. I smiled when I saw Belby's surprise. "Oh, it's alright Professor. Yes, that was him" I told him. "And how long have you been together?" he asked. "Eight months" I responded promptly. Seamus and I had recently had this conversation since neither of us had really counted before. "Well then, sorry Belby. She's firmly taken" he joked. ____Maybe he's not as oblivious as I thought he was. __Belby was blushing immensely and focused on the large amount of ice cream in front of him. I giggled as Slughorn moved on in his conversation to talk with McLaggen. When Ginny entered I heard Hermione whisper to Harry that Ginny and Dean were fighting. Harry stood as she sat down. I giggled. "Williams," Slughorn addressed me again, "I've noticed that you tend to sport Slytherin colours more often than Hufflepuff's. You always have a piece of snake jewelry on somewhere as well. I was a Slytherin myself. Is there a reason?" I was a little shocked by the question. "My family colours are Green and black. I can see where you get the Slytherin from. The snake is also a symbol of my household. I come from a long line of Slytherins. We sort of adopted the traditions of the house" I explained. All of it perfectly true. "I didn't know that" Hermione said. I smiled. "Yet, you're in Hufflepuff. How did your parents react?" Slughorn continued. I looked down. "My mother is dead" I told him. "Merlin's beard, I'm sorry. Then your father?" "He didn't mind although he encouraged me to wear snakes" I told them. "If you don't mind, how did your mother die?" he asked. "She was murdered during the first wizarding war. We don't know who did it though" I lied. We had a very good idea who killed her. "Oh, well most of the death eaters have been put to rest. So you can breath easy" "Yes, thank the lord" I said as I pretended relief. ____Except my mother wasn't killed by a death eater. She was Katherine Riddle. She was killed by a member of the Order of the Phoenix. _

___Finally, the Quiddich match between Gryffindor and Slytherin came around. I was tossing a ball around with Sophie and Collin when I spotted Ron at the door. I smiled at him and cheered, "Hufflepuff's got your back Ron!" Seamus ran over to him and encouraged him a bit. He ran back and intercepted the pass between Sophie and I. "Hey give that back!" complained. "Yah have to give me a kiss first" Seamus said. Everyone was in high spirits today if Seamus was encouraging this kind of PDA. So I decided to tease a bit. "Not likely, Ireland!" I told him. "Oh really?" he raised an eyebrow. "Okay then here you go" he said as he held the ball out to me. When I went to grab it he turned and ran. I chased his and lept onto his back. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. Sophie grabbed the ball from his hands and I was about to leap off him when he latched his hands onto my legs, securing my position. I locked my arms and legs around him and he turned his face to mine. "Can I have a kiss now?" he asked sweetly. I smiled and pecked his lips. "Happy now?" I asked. "More than you know, Canada" he winked as he ran around the great hall with me squealing on his back._

_ After the game, I went to the Gryffindor common room to congratulate Ron on a great game. I saw Lavender kiss Ron and when they got into it I whistled. Seamus came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. Still cheering, I giggled at Seamus. He had been acting very happy go lucky today. He nibbled at my ear. "You're in a good mood" I told him. "It's a mood, but the word 'good' doesn't really describe it" he replied cheekily. "It's too bad I have to go back to my dorm...now actually" I told him. "How about you stay with me tonight?" he suggested. "Can't, I promised Soph that I'd be there tonight" I explained. He groaned. "Erg...fine. But I have you all weekend" he ordered. I laughed. "Deal" I agreed as I left his embrace and out of the common room. I took the long way back __to my dorm. I was in a really good mood. I was walking by the clock tower when I saw a distinct head of blonde hair. I walked over to him, "Draco, what are you doing here?" "Thinking." His voice was cold and harsh. "Well, from my experience I find that over thinking things makes everything more difficult." "I don't really give a damn what you've experienced!" he snapped. Taken aback from this sudden outburst, I struggled to figure out something to say. I didn't have to. Draco spoke again. This time it wasn't a snap but it was still cold. "You seemed happy with the filthy half-blood today. No fights?" "No. No fights." "Too bad." "Excuse me?" "You'd be better off without him." "How would you know that?!" "I just do. Your father has never approved." "I've never cared what he thought of Seamus!" "Well, you should!" "I don't." "You should be with someone like you." "That didn't make any sense." "You should be with someone that respects and shares your family's traditions and beliefs!" "Someone like you?! Is that what you're suggesting?! You're jealous. All this time, you've been jealous!" I exclaimed. "A little, yes! But that is beside the point. Why do you think your father's been ordering us to share a bed? Making sure we got lessons on how to run a household? Tell me you saw the wedding planning books on the bookshelf in your living room. Because before you showed up, they were never there!" he yelled right into my face. I backed up. I had seen the signs. I had chosen to ignore them. "You know what they want. You can push it away all you want but in the end, they will get what they want. Whether you like it or not!" he spat as he turned and walked briskly out of the tower, leaving me to collect my thoughts before going back to my dorm._

_TWENTY EIGHT_

_ I had pushed all the thoughts in my mind about the argument with Draco out before I even reached my common room. Smiling I had listened to Sophie retell her day with Collin. I was happy for her. There wasn't much time for her to be frivolous so as long as she was soaking it up, I was fine. The next week, after class, Professor Slughorn stopped me saying that he'd like to speak with me. "What can I help you with professor?" I asked. "Well, I wanted to tell you that you've been admitted to the Slug Club!" he told me excitedly. I grinned, "What an honour! Thank you so much professor, but if you will. Why have I made the cut?" I asked curiously. "Well, I heard about how you came here after the christmas break in fifth year and you were caught up with the other students in your year within a mere three months! That's impressive my dear! Plus a girl with powerful Slytherin family connections such as yourself was too tempting for me to resist" he explained. I beamed. "I am having a christmas party before you leave for your holiday. Would you care to join us?" he asked. "Absolutely!" I replied. "Good, good. Bring your young man will you? I'd like to meet the boy who snagged a prize like yourself" "Professor, I'll bring him but you do know him. He's in your potions class with me." "Ah, yes. That is true isn't it. Ah well" he said absent absentmindedly. I smiled as I left the dungeons. _

_ We were getting ready in Seamus' room before the party. __ cgi/set?id=67068562__ "Aren't you going to get ready?" I asked as I put in an earring. "I have to ask you something" he said. "If this is another 'What is Goofy' things, I swear to god" I teased. "No. It's not. I sent an owl to me mam and she just replied today" he said. "Okay..." I said as I got his clothes out for him. I was walking around as I listened for him to respond. "Well?" I asked when he didn't finish. I looked at him and he beckoned me to him. I sighed as I walked over and sat next to him. He looked me dead in the eyes. "Do you want to come stay with me in Ireland over the holidays?" _

_ I was on Seamus' arm like I had shown him, walking around the party greeting my fellow Slug Club members. I was beaming ever since I had sent an owl to father telling him, not asking, that I was spending the vacation with Seamus' family. I saw Hermione duck away from Cormac when they were under the mistletoe and I giggled. "Ah, Scarlett my girl! There you are!" Slughorn announced as he approached Seamus and I. "Will you excuse us, Finnigan? I'd like a picture with your date here" He __asked Seamus. He kissed my hand and left to go stand with Harry who had just walked in. I thought that Seamus looked really handsome in his grey pants and vest. The sleeves of the white dress shirt he was wearing were rolled up to show his forearms. __ When I saw him for the first time, I had to do a double take. Slughorn recaptured my attention by instructing his photographer to come to them. He put a hand on my back and I smiled for the picture. As soon as Slughorn and his photographer were leaving, Seamus was at my side again. "Wow, that was a quick conversation with Harry" I told him. "Well I had to excuse meself. I didn't want anyone else stealing you away into the night, now did I?" he told me. I raised an eyebrow, "Explain?" "Well you look even more beautiful than ever tonight. Any man who thinks differently is a fool" he told me. "You spoil me" I smiled. "Actually, it's true. Harry told me that while Slughorn had other reasons to bring you into Slug Club, his main one was because of yeur beauty. He believes that it could potentially be used as a weapon to charm men into do things for you. You could influence the way things are run and laws that are passed and other things like that" Seamus explained. "That' why he was so intent on meeting you!" I realized. Seamus grinned, "Yeah, that's probably it actually" he admitted. Just then, Filch burst through the door grasping Draco's arm. "I found this one lurking in an upstairs corridor. He claims to have been invited to your party!" Filch announced. "Okay, okay I was date crashing!" Draco claimed. I knew otherwise. ____You've got to be sneakier than that, Blondie. __Snape escorted him out, and I spotted Harry sneaking out to follow them. I let him go, he couldn't stop our plans no matter how much he knew. _

_ Seamus insisted on walking me back to my dorm himself. "Good night, love" he said in front of the barrels as he took my waist and kissed me quickly. "Good night" I told him as we turned and he went up to Gryffindor tower and I entered the Hufflepuff common room. I sat by the hearth until Gracie found me and lept up onto my lap. She had a letter tied to the collar around her neck. I took it and found it was from my father. ____Responding to my warning._

___Enjoy it while it lasts._

_I read the text over and over. He didn't protest, but it was a warning that it wouldn't last. ____Oh forget it, Scar! He's letting you go! __I smiled and went to bed._

_TWENTY NINE_

_ I changed from my uniform to street clothes on the train. __ cgi/set?id=67072545__ "Nervous?" Seamus teased. I shot him a look. "It's cute!" he smiled. I blushed and grabbed my handbag as the train pulled into King's Cross. "You're shaking, love" he whispered to me. "I'm meeting your mother for the first time, I have the right to be" I challenged as we walked off the train onto the platform. He started to look around for his mom and I looked to my right where I saw Draco glaring at Seamus who's hand was in mine. When he saw me looking, he shook his head in disappointment. The action reminded me that I needed to send an owl to my father over the holidays with a report on Draco's progress. "There she is!" Seamus said, snapping me back into reality. I smiled at the woman had sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes just like her son. She was beaming. Seamus let go of my hand to give her a hug. ____Okay, that's adorable. __When he pulled away, the woman looked at me and spoke in a thick Irish accent, "And you must be Scarlett!" I smiled at her. "That would be me" I told her. "Well it's 'bout time I met you! Seamus talks non stop 'bout you when he's at home! Scarlett said this once, Scarlett did that too mam!" I giggled at Seamus who was as red as a tomato. "Come here young lady. I got to give you a proper hug!" she announced as she pulled me into her embrace. I hugged and when she pulled away, she held me to 'inspect' me. "Your a right pretty one! Seamus, how'd you convince her that dating you was a good idea?!" she teased him. "Mam..." he said, obviously __embarrassed. I was full out laughing at them. She turned and winked at me while she scuffled Seamus' hair. "Well, of we go then!" she said as she lead us off the platform to another platform on the muggle part of King's Cross. "Where are we going, Mrs. Finnigan?" I asked. "Please! Call me mam! And we're going to a train that'll take us to the English Channel. Then we get on a boat to Ireland, and once we've landed we take brooms home!" she explained. My eyes widened and I stopped in my tracks. "A-a b-b-boat?" I stammered. "Are you okay Scar? What's wrong with a boat?" Seamus asked, concerned. "She's afraid of boats obviously!" Mrs. Finnigan told Seamus. "Why don't we take the brooms now, mam?" Seamus suggested. "Alright. When we arrive in St. David's we'll take to the skies" She announced as we started moving again. _

_ "Welcome to Ireland!" Seamus exclaimed as we landed in front of a quaint house in the middle of the Irish countryside. __ . __ Mom lead us through the front door. "Go on and settle in! I'll start dinner!" she told us. Seamus took my hand and lead me up the stairs. "You're house is really small" I told him. He smiled, "Is it?" "Yes, I haven't been in a house in a year. It's weird" I said. Walking down the hall at the top of the stairs he asked, "So you live in a mansion?" "Yeah, but since only my father and I live there it gets really lonely when he's gone. For most of the year, my house elf Berta is the only one there." "What else don't I know about you?" he teased. I smiled suggestively, "Well I do have some things I'd like to show you" I told him. He raised an eyebrow as he stopped outside a wooden door. "Show me in here" he told me. He opened the door to a dark blue bedroom with one window. __ . __ "Is this yours?" I asked as I walked in. "Yup. You can put your stuff in here" he said as he brought me over to a white dresser. "It looks like mam cleaned up though" he laughed. He closed the door and sat on his bed. He patted the spot next to him. "So what do you have to show me?" he asked when I sat down. I smiled and moved my bracelet to show one of my tattoos. This one was the infinity symbol with the word life incorporated in it. "Whoa! When did you get that and how did I not notice it?!" he exclaimed in shock. I giggled. "Over the summer, I hid them" I told him. "There are MORE?!" "Is that a bad thing?" "No, just unexpected! You're the most badass Hufflepuff I've ever met!" "Well, they're not actually all that badass. Half of them are Disney related!" "Can I see the rest?" "Well I can show you four more. The last one is in a place that you'll only see if I'm in a string bikini" I teased as I took off my boots to show him the ones on my feet. When I looked at him as I was explaining them, I noticed that his eyes were filled with lust. I smiled in satisfaction. _

_ I met his muggle father at dinner. When I returned from the loo, I stopped to hear what Seamus' parents were saying to him. "She's such a sweetie!" his mom complimented. "You know, most magical people meet who they're gonna marry while at Hogwarts!" she continued. "Mam!" Seamus yelped in surprise as I heard him spit out the food he was eating. His father laughed, "She is a dear, Seamus. Don't let go o' that one" he encouraged. I decided to return then. "Hello, sorry about that" I said as I resumed my seat at the table. "So is it true that your dad's a lord?" Mom asked me. "Um, yes. Yes he is. How..?" I responded surprised. No one, __**No one, **__knew that about me. Seamus snapped his head up from his food. "He is?!" he asked. "Tsk tsk Seamus! Do your homework on your girl! I sent an owl to Dumbledore asking 'bout her when I first got your letter about getting a girlfriend! So he's Lord Williams, I presume?" she said. "Yeah, that's him" I replied, relieved that that's how she knew. Any other way would mean that she knew my real name and my father himself. "What's his first name?" Mr. Finnigan asked. "Tom. He's Lord Tom Williams of Wiltshire" I told him. Mrs. Finnigan got a funny look on her face and I thought I had blown it but then she shook it off. When we were sent to bed, Seamus grasped my hands in his. "So you live in a mansion, your dad's a lord, your going to be a lady one day, right?" he asked. "I already am. Since my mother's dead I assumed the role of Lady Williams" I explained. Which was actually true, except for the name. I lay in bed with Seamus' arms wrapped __around me and for the first time in a long time, let my mind forget my duties and responsibilities as Scarlett Riddle. I let myself focus on Scarlett, the girl that the Finnigans are ready to accept as a daughter in law. Seamus' girl._

_THIRTY_

_ "Wake up, love! Wake up! It's christmas!" Seamus told me as he shook my shoulder. I sat up and smiled. "Happy Christmas, Seamus" I told him softly. "Happy Christmas, beautiful" he replied taking my face with one hand and bringing it to his. He kissed me softly and slowly. He had barely kissed me while we were here, even when we were alone in his room. He stood, stretching and yawning. I walked over to the window and grinned. "Look, babe! It's snowing!" I exclaimed happily while kneeling at the window pane. "I hope everyone's decent!" Mrs. Finnigan said as she opened the door. I blushed a bit and spun from the window, standing. "Well, get dressed and come down for Christmas breakfast!" she told us before closing the door. "Your mom is the __**best**__ cook I've ever met" I said. Seamus laughed a little. "Says the princess" he told me. "No, everything I eat at home is weird. Like once when my father was having a dinner party, we ate fermented fish guts in a pepper sauce" I told him. "Yuck!" he said as he scrunched his face up in disgust. "I ate one bite. After he had gone to bed that night I snuck down to the kitchen and Berta made me tomato soup and crackers" I smiled. "You really like Berta, don't you?" "Well, ever since I found out that the mom that raised me wasn't actually my mom and that my real mom was dead, Berta kind of became my surrogate mom" I said softly. He walked over and put his arm around me while rubbing his thumb on my shoulder. I leaned my head into his shoulder and he kissed my forehead. "We should get dressed and get downstairs before she comes back up here" he said. I changed into a warm christmas sweater and jeans. __ cgi/set?id=67086200__ Slipping on my toms I walked downstairs with Seamus. I smiled at his outfit. He was wearing his own christmas sweater. ____We're a matching set.__ We sat down at the table at the seats where Mrs. Finnigan had already put plates at. ____Mmm...eggs and bacon.__ I smiled as I picked up a forkful of scrambled eggs. Mrs. Finnigan came over to me and dropped a letter beside me. "An owl came by and dropped this off for you this morning" she explained. I smiled in thanks since my mouth was full. She retreated and I opened the envelope. There were three letters and a card in it. I opened the first letter. It was from Narcissa. _

___Lady Scarlett, _

___As you know, you're photograph was taken with Draco this summer. We made the picture into christmas cards. We've sent non-moving ones to your muggle family in Canada. I've included yours in the envelope. _

___Happy Christmas,_

___Narcissa Malfoy_

_I decided to look at the card later. I opened the second letter. It was from my father._

___Happy Christmas_

_I rolled my eyes. ____A man of many words, my father is. __I opened the last letter and to my surprise, it was from Draco. _

___Scarlett, _

___Happy Christmas. I look forward to seeing you in the new year._

___Yours. Truly._

___Draco Malfoy_

_ Could he have made the fact that he was forced to write this more obvious? ____I don't think he could make it more so if he tried. __I sighed. "Lots of letters?" Seamus asked. I almost forgot he was there. "Oh, yeah. Not a lot written on it though" I told him. "Well, let's go open presents shall we?" He asked as he picked up his plate. After I put the letters back into the envelope, I followed his example. We walked to the tree and sat down on his couch. __ . __ The fire was already roaring. I retrieved the gift that I had got for Seamus from under the tree. It was a ring with a Canadian penny in it's centre. Since he always wore rings and he had given me something Irish, I got him a ring that was canadian. __ . ?w=640__ He opened it and he laughed. "It's perfect, love" he told me. "Now open mine, please?" he asked. I laughed and he handed me a box. I opened in and inside were four movies. Pride and Prejudice (the Keira Knightly version), Bride and Prejudice, Peter Pan, and The Fox and the Hound. I beamed. "Oh, Seamus! Thank you!" I hugged him and as I was leaning away, he kissed me quickly. I was a little surprised. He had never shown any sort of affection towards me in front of his parents. My smile grew. Afterwards we went upstairs to watch Peter Pan in his room. "So why Peter Pan?" I asked. "Your tattoo. It's Peter Pan, is it not?" he responded. I grinned. "Yeah, it is" "You know what's crazy?" he asked me. "No, what?" "We've been together for almost a year." "Holy shit. That's true isn't it?" "January 27__th__ is the official date" he told me as he climbed onto the bed with putting his arm around my shoulders. The familiar Disney theme song played and I relaxed into his chest. "Seamus?" I said. "Yeah?" "I love you" I told him. He looked at me, shocked. Realizing what I just said I turned away from him and mumbled, "You don't have to say anything, in fact don't. Better yet forget that I said anything at all." "Why would I want to forget that?" he asked. I shrugged my shoulders. He put his hand under my chin and turned my face so that I was looking at him. Looking right into my eyes, he said, "I loved you since I first laid eyes on you. I just never said anything because I figured you'd run away. I love you, Scarlett." I kissed him. Hard. With our lips moving perfectly, I felt his tongue lick my lips asking for entrance. I granted it. I felt his tongue exploring my mouth. Swiftly he pushed me down so that his body was on top of mine, pressing me into the mattress. I locked my arms around his neck, holding me to him. His hands were firm and unmoving on my hipbones, holding me in place. All of a sudden we heard a cough from the door. He jumped off of me and I sat up straight. It was his mom. ____How awkward is THAT. __Seamus cleared his throat, "Hi mam" he said, embarrassed. "Hello, Seamus. I just wanted to tell you two that dad and I are going to christmas mass tonight. We won't be back 'til late" she told us. "Okay, thanks mam" Seamus told her. We were both blushing like crazy. "How about we watch the rest of the movie?" I suggested when she left. "Yeah, good idea" he agreed. I relaxed into the pillows but after protest from Seamus I moved to lay on his chest and watched the film._

_THIRTY ONE_

_ After his parents left, Seamus was content to watch Pride and Prejudice on the telly downstairs. I laughed at him. "Well you can do that, I'm going to take a shower" I told him as I left his living room and went upstairs to the bathroom. After my shower I realized that I forgot to grab underwear. I wrapped a towel around myself and swiftly walked to his room. Closing the door behind me I stepped __in. When I circled around to face his room, I yelped. Seamus was lying down on his bed, reading. "JESUS!" he hollered. "Sorry! I didn't know you were in here and I forgot something!" I rationalized. He was struggling to look right into my eyes, "I-it's alright. I got bored by myself and decided to wait for you here" he explained. Suddenly, a cheeky grin came across his face. "Can I see that last tattoo now?" He asked. I smiled. "Yeah, sure" I told him as I waved him over to me. He walked over and I turned so that my side was facing him. I let my towel slip a little so that the crown showed. "It's my personal symbol that I added to my family shield" I told him. He brushed his fingers against my bare skin where the crown was. All of a sudden, he put his hands on either side of my head. He locked the door. I looked at him, his eyes were filled with lust again. But this time was different. This time no one could interrupt us. He leaned his face down to meet mine. With my towel tied securely, I wrapped my arms around his neck. His hands moved to my waist and he pulled me close so that our bodies were pressed firmly together. I backed up a little to remove his shirt. He undid his pants for me and stepped out of them. He moved his hands to my ass, squeezing slightly he lifted me up so that my legs locked around his hips. He twisted around and threw me onto his bed. From there he whipped off the towel and threw it. After looking at me for a moment he crawled onto the bed above me. My hands moved to the band of his boxers and removed them. I felt his dick hard against my thigh. I moved my lips to his neck and nibbled on his skin. I bit down harshly. He moaned. I knew that there was going to be a mark there the next morning and I smiled in satisfaction. "Oh you want to play that way, do you?" he said as he moved his lips down my torso, biting every few inches. When he reached my womanhood, he lightly kissed the inside of my thigh. "Tease" I said huskily, my mind clouded. He moved back up my body until I felt his tip at my entrance. Slowly, he moved into me. I gasped as my cherry burst. It was painful at first but he whispered to me, "Let it adjust, love." He moved out of me a little quicker, then back in. Every thrust was faster and harder. "I'm-I'm gonna reach my climax" he stammered. All of a sudden he involuntarily yelled my name and I wasn't far behind him. I screamed his name. He pulled out and collapsed next to me on the bed. Out of breath I looked at him, smiling. He smiled back and pulled me to him. We fell asleep in each others arms._

_ The next morning I awoke to someone pounding on the door. Seamus lept up and threw on pyjama pants. After kicking the spewn clothes out of the line of vision of the door and making sure I was hidden under the covers and behind the pillows, he unlocked the door. It was his mom. "Why'd you lock the door?" she asked. "Scar was afraid of a burglar or someone sneaking in while yeu and dad were gone" Seamus lied. "Okay, well get dressed and come downstairs. I made breakfast. Oh and this is for Scarlett, I found it on our doorstep when dad and I got home last night" she said as she left. Seamus closed the door again. He threw me a letter as he left to use the loo. I yawned and opened it. It was from father. ____Shit...what does he want? _

___I'm sending the car. You are to come home immediately._

_ Angry, I threw the letter. I got dressed and threw my stuff into my bag. By the time Seamus had returned, I was zipping it up. I rushed past him to retrieve my tolitries. He followed me carrying my bag. "Where are you going?" he asked. "Home" I told him through my gritted teeth. "Why?" he asked, sounding genuinely hurt. I turned to him. "I don't want to go, ____especially__ after last night I don't want to. But unfortunately, my father's word is final and he's telling me to come home. He's already sent a car. It should be arriving any moment" I told him. ____Don't cry. You'll see him at Hogwarts.__ But I couldn't help it. Tears began to fall. Seamus walked over to me and hugged me tightly. I cried into his shoulder. "What is taking-oh. Oh sweetheart, what's wrong?" Seamus' mom said as she entered the bathroom. Seamus answered for me, "Her father is ordering her home. He's sent a car already" "Well then I'll go pack you some bacon for the road" she said, trying to cheer me up. I just held Seamus for as long as I could before I had to go to an empty mansion and an unfriendly Draco._

_THIRTY TWO_

_ The car pulled into my gates and up to my front door. I walked in, not caring who saw me. A steely expression plain on my face. I went up to my room without speaking to anyone. I locked my door and threw my luggage like a baseball at my wall. My shoes quickly followed. I knelt to the ground, defeated. "Jesus! Why are you here!?" Draco yelped from my bathroom door. I turned sharply to glare at him. "A better question is why are YOU here?! This is MY room! I wasn't even here and you stay here anyways?! DON'T YOU HAVE A ROOM OF YOUR OWN?!" I screamed at him. "I was told to be here! If you have a problem with your father then take it out on him, NOT ME!" he yelled back. "Get out" I told him. "But-" "NOW!" I hollered as I got to my feet. He rolled his eyes and left. _

_ I wasn't disturbed all day until around five o'clock. Berta knocked on my door and told me that my father wanted to speak with me in the front room. Not caring how I looked, I walked downstairs with no shoes or poise. I didn't knock when I entered the room, "You summoned me, from Ireland?" I said coldly. Shocked at my apparel, he told me to go change. "If you want to speak with me, I'll be wearing this. I'm not going back up to my room to change because you send me up there, I won't come back" I told him. "Is that attitude I hear?" he asked, taunting me. I didn't reply. "Anyways, I summoned you here for two reasons" he continued, "One, you should spend time with me during the holidays." My eyes widened. "Excuse me?! But I was here for two whole months and you were here twice. You barely said anything to me while I was here. Why would I even think to spend another holiday trying to get your attention?" I spat. He ignored me, as per usual. "My second reasoning is because of your fondness for that half-blood" he said. I pursed my lips. "I've explained this to you before father-" I started. "You have gained as much trust as possible, my dear. The only reason that you would further this facade, would be because you were emotionally involved and I can not have that. It would be a disgrace to the Riddle name" he told me. "Father, do I have to remind you of your own blood status?" I challenged. This time, it was his turn to be angry. "Come here" he said curtly. I walked closer to him so that I was only I foot from the chair he was sitting in. "You are not to speak of it ever again. Do I make myself clear?" he responded in a low, menacing voice. "Crystal" I replied. "Give me a kiss then and I'll expect to see you at dinner-dressed" he dismissed. I kissed his cheek and left._

_ I found my favourite compartment on the train and sat in it alone. Putting in my headphones, I shut out the rest of the world. I put on the sassiest song I could find. Talkin' That by: Cher Lloyd. I didn't want to think of the second half of my holidays. Leaning my head back and closing my eyes, I thought of the first half. I stayed in that position even as the train started to move. She was singing to me again. Then all of a sudden she stopped. I asked her to keep singing but she shushed me. I looked to see Berta at the door, a worried expression on her pointed face. The woman told me to hide under the bed like we had practiced. She took the baby from his crib and hid him in the cupboards. She sat and waited. I could see a pair of large boots at the doorway. A gruff voice of a man spoke her name but I wasn't listening. I was too scared. I heard the woman reasoning with the man but he cut her off. "That's enough! You have no excuses! Avada Kedavra!" he bellowed. There was a flash of green light and I saw the woman fall to the ground. The man turned and left. Then I woke with a start. Seamus was shaking me. "Scar! Scarlett!" he was calling. I threw my arms around his neck. I was crying. I had forgotten why. I just remembered being very distraught. He hugged me and cooed reassurances. Only when I had calmed down did I notice a very awkward Dean and Neville sitting across from us. "Nightmare?" Dean asked. I nodded. "Brutal" he told me. "Sorry about that guys" I apologized. "It's fine, love. No need to apologize" Seamus said. "Anyways, how was everyone's holidays?" I asked as I wiped the last of my tears away. "Fine compared to what happened at the Weasley's" Neville told me as the other boys nodded approval. "What happened? Is everyone okay?" I asked, concerned. I knew that Harry and Hermione were staying there too. "Yeah, everyone's fine except for perhaps the burrow itself" Dean told me. I raised an eyebrow. "It burnt to the ground. Death eaters. The day after you left __my place" Seamus said. I gasped. ____The day after my argument with father._

_ I stood on the balcony of the astronomy tower, distraught. I knew that the burning of the burrow had been triggered because of me. It was a warning. Not only that father can find Harry and hurt him and his friends. But also to me. ____Know who you are.__ I felt a hand on my lower back. "I figured you'd come up here when you heard" Draco said. "You knew?" "Only afterwards. My aunt paraded around the manor like she should get an award or something afterwards. Then when I asked about it, she gave me every last detail. It was terrible" he told me. I laughed a little. "What am I going to do, Draco?" "Because you're emotionally involved?" I nodded. "Prepare for heartbreak" he told me bluntly. As much as I hated to admit it, I knew I would have to. Some day soon, Father would put an end to my relationship with Seamus. I leaned into Draco's shoulder. "So, what's your newest method of murder?" I asked, changing the subject. "You'll know it when you see it" he replied. "What I don't understand is why not just do it? Just get him alone in his office or something and preform the killing curse?" I asked. He scoffed. "If you know so much, then why don't you kill him?" he told me. "He gave the task to you. And you're avoiding my question." "I'm not answering your question because I don't have an answer." "Disappointing" I said. "Get used to disappointment" he told me as he winked. "Referencing Pride and Prejudice are we? Well done, Malfoy. Maybe all that reading did you some good" I smiled. "I wouldn't count on it" He laughed as we watched the stars. I could have sworn I saw a shooting star fly through the sky._

_THIRTY THREE_

_ "Harry. I need to talk to you" I told him before our Transfiguration class. "Uh, yeah okay" He said as we walked out of earshot of the other students. Just in case, I mumbled "Muffliato" so that no one would hear our conversation. "Okay, so what do you need?" Harry asked. "I need to ask a favour of you that you can't ask any questions about" I told him. "And that is?" "Tell me all you know about Lord Voldemort." He took a double take. "W-what?" "I said no questions." "Why are you asking me? Can I ask that one?" "You saw him rise from whatever he was right? You were the one that 'took him out' per say. So you must know more than the average person does. Plus you're not afraid to talk about him" I explained. "O-okay. I'll talk to you about it later, deal?" "Deal" I smiled and removed the muffliato charm as we walked to class._

_ "Okay so this is the cabinet you've been mending, and how's that going?" I asked. Draco and I were doing an evaluation of his progress. "I've successfully sent and retrieved a bird" he reported proudly. "Well at least you've got that part right." "Hey, the mead wasn't bad!" "You're right, it was weak. Draco, you're representing my father! Make Dumbledore's death count! Make sure no one dares to defy our, and your power!" I encouraged. He smirked. "What now?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "Nothing, just since when were you so gung ho for your father?" he asked, his famous smirk plastered __on his face. I closed the distance between us until I felt his hot breath on my lips. "By representing my father, you represent me. So do it well" I whispered as I swivelled in the other direction and headed out of the room of requirement. On my way to the grand hall I was stopped by Charlotte. "You spend a lot of time with Malfoy, don't you Scarlett?" she accused. "If you're inferring that I'm cheating on Seamus then let me be the first to tell you otherwise. Draco and I are friends. Nothing more, but also nothing less" I told her coldly as I turned away. "That's not what people are saying. Someone said that they spotted you and Draco on the balcony of the Astronomy tower looking very cozy!" she reported. "Who told you that?" I asked angrily. "I can't tell you that" she said defiantly. I whipped around and shoved her into the wall, my wand at her throat. "WHO?!" I barked. "P-Pansy Parkinson! She's been spreading rumours about you all term!" she stammered. I let her go. I stormed into the grand hall and searched for her ugly pug like face. When I spotted it, I made a beeline for her. When she saw me coming she turned my way and began to jeer and laugh. "Oh look! Watch out, the whore might give you herpes!" she laughed. I grabbed her by the back of her uniform and dragged her out of the hall. When we reached a __secluded corridor I threw her to the ground. "Watch it you bitch!" she hollered, in hopes that someone would hear her and help her. No one came. I lifted her by her collar off the ground and against a wall. "What have you been saying?" I growled. "I'm not telling you!" She spat. I slammed her head against the wall. "NOW" I yelled. "FINE. I said that you were sleeping with Draco behind Seamus' back!" "That's not it, is it? FINISH!" "OKAY! I said that you were paying guys to sleep with you!" he admitted. Before letting her go I growled right into her ear, "You are __**never **__to say anything like that about me __**ever**__ again. Do I make myself clear? You have __**no **__idea who you're dealing with!" I let her go and walked out of the corridor, leaving her whimpering on the floor._

_ I paced in Seamus' dorm. He hadn't returned from lunch yet and I was growing impatient. Finally he trooped in laughing with Dean, Harry and Ron. When he saw me he sobered up. "Hey babe, what's going on?" he asked, the other boys exchanging what they needed quickly and leaving. "You mean you didn't hear all that stuff people were saying about me?" I asked. "Well, no I did. But I know it's not true. It's Pansy being Pansy. Why?" he told me. Then he saw the anger in my eyes. "Oh no, what did you do?" he asked, warily. I looked at the ground. "I dragged her out of the grand hall and slammed her against a wall" I admitted shyly. To my great surprise, he laughed. Hard. When I looked up I saw __that he had moved closer to me. He put his hands on my upper arms and let them slide down to my hands. He put his hands on my hips and looked right into my eyes. "My badass Hufflepuff. Who would of guessed Hufflepuff's would have such spunk?" he teased. I smiled. "So you're not mad, or upset?" I asked. He laughed. "No! Anyone who spreads a rumour like that about my girl, deserves what she got" he reassured me. I kissed him. "Okay, I have to go do some studying now" I told him as I left his arms. "Alright, well I'm going to take advantage of this empty dorm room to take a nap" he announced as he plopped into his bed. "Are you sure you don't want to join me?" he added suggestively. I looked back at him, "I'm sure" I winked as I left._

_ I was writing an in class essay for Snape when I saw Harry get up to talk to Katie. The girl that Draco accidentally attacked. Draco, who had just entered the hall, spun around and left when he saw Harry and Katie talking. I knew he was stressed about the whole ordeal and I bet that seeing that didn't help. Harry followed him out. ____Well, shit. __I scooped up my notebook and followed them, staying hidden in the shadows. When the entered the bathroom, I stayed outside. Listening, I heard them throwing spells at each other. I saw Snape coming down the hall. I pointed into the bathroom just as I heard Harry yell a spell I hadn't heard before. Snape flew in and Harry backed out. I hid in the corner and he didn't see me. When Snape walked out he jerked his finger into the bathroom at me. I ran in. He was leaning against the sinks, head down and facing me. The floor appeared to have been previously wet. "You're cracking" I told him. His head shot up, he obviously hadn't heard me come in. "Am not!" he sneered. I scoffed. "You don't have to do that you know" I said. "What?" "You know, be mean. It won't gain you any brownie points." "I have no idea what you're talking about" he said as he looked down again. I walked over to him and put my hands around his wrists. His wrists were much larger than my extra tiny hands and as I pulled them in front of his body, I noticed that my hands didn't even go halfway around the smallest part of his arms. He looked up at me sadly. "I remember watching a movie with one of my muggle sisters. In in there was a quote. It's okay to be scared, just as long as you don't let it change who you are" I said softly. A smile played at the corners of his lips. "Thanks, Scar." "Remember, you can talk to me. Whenever you need" I said as I let go of his wrists and turned to leave. He grabbed my waist and turned me around to kiss me. Once. It was a peck and I was shocked. I backed away quickly. ____I try to trust him and this is what I get?__ "I had to do it at least once" he informed me, "It won't happen again" he finished. I nodded and ran out of the bathroom._

_THIRTY FOUR_

_ "Scar! Scarlett!" I heard Harry calling me. I looked at him running towards me down the __corridor. I waved for Ava to continue to the library without me. "Muffliato" Harry said. "Voldemort?" I asked. "Yeah, Dumbledore and I saw Slughorn's real memory. Voldemort has horcruxes. Seven in total" He reported. "What does this mean?" I asked. "That he can't die" he told me grimly. I nodded and we parted ways._

_ Months past without any real events occurring. My birthday was coming up and Seamus had a surprise in store for me. Finally, on Saturday April 22__nd__ I woke up 17. I smiled as I rolled out of bed and put on the outfit that I had laid out weeks ago. __ what_should_have_been_happy/set?id=67292101__ I was to meet Seamus in the Gryffindor tower at 11 o'clock that morning. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Sophie, Ava, and Charlotte yelled in harmony. I laughed. "Thanks guys" I smiled. "Ready for some breakfast?" Sophie asked. "Yup, let's go" I told her as slipped on my other shoe and followed the girls out of the dorm. Sitting at our usual spot at the Hufflepuff table, I ate some eggs and of course bacon. ____My favourite meal. EVER. __I sighed as the morning post came in. I was surprised to see my family owl drop down in front of me. I rubbed his feathers like I knew he liked as I took the letter from his leg. I put it down knowing that it was probably just my father. I would read it before I went to the tower. Suddenly, Seamus came out of no where and kissed my cheek. Standing behind me, he wished me a happy birthday. "You look beautiful today, love" he told me. I looked at him, "More mature too?" "Absolutely" he smiled as he pecked me and went to sit with the other Gryffindors. _

_ I left my friends early to read my letter in privacy. Sitting on my bed I opened my letter. As I read my face went from bright and smiley to pale and about to cry. And it was only one line. "No, no, no. He wouldn't, Gracie! Would he?" I asked the goat._

___Break up with him. Today. Or he and his parents will mysteriously disappear._

_ Tears spilled down my face as I came to the realization that I had pushed him too far. I wasn't sure how, but I did. I ran up to the Gryffindor tower, birthday surprise completely forgotten. I ran into the room. "SURPRISE!" everyone yelled as they jumped from their hiding places in the beautifully decorated common room. Their happiness drained when they saw my reaction. "It was just a surprise, sweetheart. Did we scare you?" Seamus asked. I didn't say anything in fear of crying. I just took his hand and lead him up to his dorm. He had decorated it as well. "What's wrong, love?" he asked as he took my hands. I recoiled from his touch. Surprised and a little hurt he backed up too. "I-I'm sorry Seamus, but we can't be together anymore" I told him trying to keep an emotionless expression. His eyes immediately clouded with pain. "W-what?" he stammered softly. He was hurt. Not angry. Hurt. In pain. Sad. I had never seen him like this. I would have much rathered he was angry. "I have to break up with you" I told him, picking my words carefully. "This is goodbye" I told him. He breathed deeply and I saw tears forming in his blue eyes. As I was leaving, he spoke. "Can I at least know why?" Knowing that I had to sever ties I thought of the coldest response I could. "I can't love you anymore" I told him and I left. I didn't look at anyone as I walked through the common room. As soon as I was out of the door and the portrait closed, I ran. Tears were streaming down my face. I turned a corner and ran into Draco. ____Just my luck...__ Expecting him to tell me 'I told you so' I tried to brush past him. But he had already seen my face. He took my wrists in both hands. "Scarlett, what's wrong? Don't cry, it's your birthday!" he told me. I looked up at him with tears running violently down my face. "Come on, follow me" he said as he held my small hand in his and lead me down to the dungeons. We reached a dirty brick wall and Draco said, "Pure blood." The bricks parted to let us in. The Slytherin Dungeon. It was elegant and beautiful. It reminded me of the Riddle Residence and the Malfoy Manor. Dark, green and royal some how. He lead me through the common room and straight to his dorm. He sat me down on his bed and told me to explain everything. Looking into his blue-grey eyes I exploded. I told him everything. How father had been suspicious during christmas, then how he had threatened the Finnigan's if I didn't break up with Seamus, and finally how Seamus had been hurt. Draco listened __attentively. When I was done he wrapped his arms around me and held me close, letting me cry into his chest. "Stay here tonight" he told me. "I've missed you and you need someone tonight other than Gracie." I nodded in agreement and we laid down in his four poster bed, pulling the curtains around us closed. I laid my head down onto his chest, my tears gone. I only noticed now but I found that Draco and I fit together perfectly. He was much bigger than me and he engulfed me in his embrace. But I also noticed that he was harder than Seamus was. The sound of his deep breathing as he fell asleep wasn't as warm and comforting as Seamus'. I sighed as thought of the boy, and the love, that I lost because of my father. ____What else am I going to have to give up for you?_

_THIRTY FIVE_

_ I walked with my head held high all through the rest of the year. I heard Gryffindors whispering. I saw Pansy with a proud smirk plastered on her face. I decided not to give her the satisfaction of admitting she was getting to me. Anyways, I had to focus on the mission. It was nearly time for the death eaters to arrive and there was a new plan set in motion for Draco. It was exactly as I had said from the beginning. He was going to get him alone, and use the killing curse. But with a twist, he was going to do it with the death eaters as audience. I wasn't sure exactly who my father was sending, but I knew Bellatrix was a give in. In the middle of the night I woke up and got dressed. __ cgi/set?id=67297526__ As I was dressing, I found the necklace Seamus gave me. I almost considered running up to give it back now, but I knew that once I got there I wouldn't want to leave. Ever. So I left it and walked to the room of requirement where Draco was already waiting outside for me. He kissed my cheek in greeting. He was shaking. "Nervous?" I whispered. "A little, but don't tell them that" he admitted. I smiled as I took his hand and and the doors appeared. We walked in and headed to the vanishing cabinet. He pulled the cover off of it and we waited. We heard the whoosh of something arriving. "Like clockwork" I mumbled. He squeezed my hand. Out of the doors came Bellatrix, and a few other random death eaters who had probably introduced themselves to me and I had promptly erased from my memory. Draco lead us up to the clock tower where Dumbledore was supposed to be arriving any moment. As to keep my identity a secret, I hid below. When I saw Snape go up I removed myself from my hiding spot, knowing that it would be over soon enough. "Scarlett!" I heard someone whisper. I turned around quickly and saw Harry. Improvising on the spot, I flew over to him. "What's going on?" I whispered. "What are you doing here? Go to bed!" he told me. "I couldn't sleep. But what's going on?" I said more forcefully. Giving up on his attempt to send me away, he told me. "Draco Malfoy is a death eater, he's been instructed by Voldemort to kill Dumbledore" he explained. I heard Snape say the killing curse. Harry was furious, but I held him back. When I saw the death eaters coming down the stairs, I threw him behind a crate and started yelling at the death eaters for killing Dumbledore. Snape being the only one who understood my facade, instructed the randoms to take me with them. I was a witness that needed to be disposed of. They grabbed both my arms and pulled me along with them. Draco was petrified and Bellatrix was smashing stuff. I was squirming but also whispering to the men that they would be rewarded for going along with my act. They smiled evilly. As we walked through the grounds I heard Harry yelling behind us. Snape told the death eaters to keep me moving. When we reached Hogsmeade, we apparated to the Riddle Residence. _

_THIRTY SIX_

_ Sometime in July, my father called me down to speak with him. He told me that I was to dress formally for a party he was hosting tonight. It was in Draco and my honour. That night, since I knew that this had something to do with Draco, my father would be expecting me to dress seductively I found my sluttiest dress and matched it with jewelry and makeup. __ cgi/set?id=67098842__ Draco knocked on my door at 7:55 pm. I greeted him with a smile, he greeted me gaping. __"What?" I asked. "N-nothing. You are just very, well...attractive" he admitted. I grinned as I took his arm. We walked to the grand staircase and waited for our introductions. We heard my father's voice booming from below. "Now, please join me in welcoming the next generation and the stars of this evening. Young Draco Malfoy and my lovely daughter Scarlett Riddle!" he called as we came around the corner and stopped at the top of the stairs to smile at everyone before we descended. We walked around the party all through the night. When it was almost ten o'clock, my father got everyone's attention again. "Now for the moment you've all been waiting for. The announcement!" he told everyone. "Scarlett, Draco. Come here please." We walked to him. "I would like to tell everyone of the agreement that the Malfoy family and I have had ever since Draco and Scarlett were born. Since they were born around the same time, and to powerful pureblood families, we decided to betroth them! Yes, these two are your future Dark Lord and Lady!" he announced. Everyone gasped and burst out in applause. I smiled weakly and looked at Draco. But he had been prepared for this moment obviously because he kissed my hand and pulled me up onto the small stage that my father was standing on. He addressed the group with a speech. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for your warm acceptance of our betrothal. I know it was a dream come true for me" he told them before turning to me. Still enunciating so that everyone could hear him he began to talk to me. "Scarlett, from the moment I met you I knew that I wouldn't be happy with anyone else. You're elegance and poise was obvious from the start. Through the years I watched you as you fooled a filthy half blood boy into loving you. You did it so easily because of your beauty and grace. Any man would be an idiot to refuse you and I am the luckiest man alive to know that you will be mine. But just for good measure and for tradition, I'd thought I'd ask" he said as he got down on one knee and pulled out a little black box. When he opened it, there was a small silver ring with a diamond encrusted snake coiled around it. __ . __ I gasped, as did the rest of the crowd. "Scarlett Rose Riddle, will you marry me?" he asked. I gulped. I thought of what Harry would say. Hermione. Ron. Sophie, Charlotte, Ava, Ginny, Dean. Seamus. ____Oh, Seamus. I'm so sorry.__ I whispered, "Yes" and he slid the ring on my slim finger. It was a perfect fit. He stood and took my face in his hands and leaned in closely. "I thought you said this would never happen again" I whispered, teasing him. "Yeah, well I didn't make that promise when we were engaged now did I?" he replied before crashing his lips onto mine. His hands moved to my waist and mine slithered around his neck. The on lookers burst into applause and cheers. Blushing, I backed out. I was smiling though. It was a miracle. _

_ "So how long have you known?" I asked Draco as we were getting ready for bed. "For sure? Yesterday. But I've been suspicious about it since-" "Yeah I know, since we met" I finished for him. I'd heard the story before. "Hey, don't get snippy with me" he told me. "I know, I know. It just would have been nice if I had a warning about the betrothal at least" I sighed as I removed the last of my makeup. He put his arms around my waist and put his head on my shoulder. "You know, I meant most of that stuff. The stuff I said in my speech" he told me. "What was a lie?" I asked. "Well it wasn't a lie exactly, but I didn't mean it when I called Finnigan a filthy half blood" he said quietly. As soon as he said the name, I tensed up. I left his embrace and went to bed. "I am sorry by the way. It's not fair what your father did, but you have to remember that he is the Dark Lord" Draco told me as he climbed into bed, wrapping his arms around my waist. I was turned the other way. He waited for my response, but I didn't say anything. _

_THIRTY SEVEN_

_ School started but Draco and I were told to stay at home and be home schooled. Father thought that we were better off that way. Father sent the Carrows to teach at Hogwarts and made Snape headmaster. The thought of the combination made me shudder. The Carrows were ruthless and Snape was distant and cold. Headmasters were supposed to be welcoming and warm. I thought of my friends __and grew worried. I was in the midst of writing a letter to Sophie to find out how things were when I remembered that I had been 'kidnapped'. I sighed discontentedly. I jumped slightly when I heard Berta knocking my door. "Mistress Riddle, Master Riddle requests your company in the study" she reported. "Of course, Berta" I replied as I stood and followed her out of my room. Making my way all the way downstairs, I sighed thinking of what he could possibly want now. "You sent for me?" I asked at the door of study. Swivelling the chair to face me, he gestured for me to sit across from him. Nagini was freaking me out as she slithered across his shoulders. I called for Gracie before I moved further into the room. Only when I could hear her hooves running across the marble floors, did I walk into the study and take the seat. She ran in and jumped up onto my lap. I stroked her and gazed at my father. "An owl dropped this off this morning. It's for you" he told me. "Is that it? You could have just had Berta-" I said, but I was interrupted. "I read it" he said. I was shocked. He never read my letters before. "P-pardon?" I stammered. "Riddles don't stutter, Scarlett" He scolded. "I'm sorry, father" I responded while I bowed my head in shame. "Anyways, I read it because I wanted to make sure that you weren't conferring with people at Hogwarts. But, from what I read it seems that they are still clueless of your status" he reported. I looked up hopefully, "I haven't spoken to anyone from Hogwarts since June, father. I don't know where this letter came from or who it's from" I told him. "It's from the half blood boy that you deceived. I don't remember his name" he told me. "Alright father, is that all you needed?" I asked. "Yes, this letter proves that you remain loyal to me. Thank you, you may go. And take this will you?" he dismissed. Nudging Gracie off my lap, I stood taking the letter from the desk. As soon as I was out of sight and earshot of the study, I ran up to my room to read the letter. I locked the door as I got in, Gracie hot on my heels. I sat on my bed and read._

___Scarlett, _

___ I know it's not appropriate me writing this letter to you, but no one knows where you went and things aren't going well this year. I don't know what I did to change your feelings of me but whatever they are please forget them. Just for now. Just for the duration that you read this. I doubt you'll even ever get this. That makes me scared. The fact that Harry watched you be carried off by death eaters is terrifying. Please be alive. Please don't let them hurt you. You're stronger than that. Than them. I think of you every day. I hope you know that. I wanted to lead a search party for you, but Dean told me that you wouldn't want that. Some how I knew he was right. Mum didn't want me to come back to Hogwarts this year, but I did anyways. Things have changed, Scar. Snape is a terrible headmaster, and the Carrows are ruthless. They wanted us to practice the Crucio curse on first years. I wouldn't stand for that though. I said no, so they beat me. I hope that for every spell they use on me is one that they don't on you. Do whatever they want okay? Be okay. Stay alive. Do what you have to do to survive. If I die, please come to the funeral if there is one. I'll be waiting for you in heaven. You must have already thrown away this letter but if you haven't, thank you. I miss you. Please come back alive. If I learned that you were dead, I don't know what I'd do. Probably taunt the Carrows till they killed me too. My last wish is for you to live. To be happy. To carry on. Be strong. Be co-operative. Be alive. Please._

___Sincerely, _

___Seamus Finnigan_

_ A single tear rolled down my face as I finished reading. Knowing that father would be expecting me to reply immediately, I waited. I would wait several days. Finally at dinner one night father brought it up, "Scarlett, I noticed that you haven't replied to that letter." I looked at him calmly. "I don't have anything to say, that's all" I told him. "What letter?" Draco asked me. "Seamus decided to write to me" I said. The fury in his eyes was evident. He put his fork and knife down and took the napkin off of his lap. He stood and asked to speak with me alone. I rolled my eyes and followed him to the front room. __"So, Seamus wrote you a letter?" he asked. "Yeah" I said. "What did he want?" "For me to stay alive. That's all." "Why does he care?" "How should I know? What are you getting at, Draco?" "Are you secretly owling him when you think I'm asleep like you did last summer?" he asked crossly. I took a breath. "You knew?" I asked weakly. "Yes, of course I knew. I appreciated the discretion of mailing them at night last year, but this year I will not" he warned. "I'm not owling Seamus. I haven't spoken to Seamus since April" I reported. He sighed. "Good. May I read the letter?" he asked, a little less angry. I nodded and motioned for him to follow me up the stairs to my room. As soon as he finished reading it he took out some of my personal parchment and one of my scented quills. I had enchanted them to make the ink smell of my perfume. He scribbled a message and then marched down to the study where the Riddle owl was waiting. He tied the parchment to it's leg. "Seamus Finnigan, Hogwarts" Draco told it as it flew out of the room and into the dark sky. "What did you write?" "____She's fine. But she won't be if you write again. __Then I signed my name" he told me as he faced me and walked towards me until his body pressed mine into the desk. He pushed his lips onto mine, he was obviously angry and needed a way to vent. His hands searched my torso violently. He lifted me up onto the desk, my legs around his waist. Taking a breath, he leaned his forehead against mine. "Don't think that I've forgotten the dress you wore to the engagement party" he whispered huskily. I smirked. "Don't think that you're getting any until after we're married" I announced. The letter from Seamus had given me a new boost of energy. I was still in charge here. I wasn't going to have sex with him until I knew that there was no hope of getting out of the marriage. Smirking, I pushed him away lightly and went back to dinner. _

_THIRTY EIGHT_

_ It's March. I've been stuck in the Riddle Residence for eight months. Father has been getting weaker. I can tell. He keeps Nagini closer than ever and he is off somewhere doing something for most of the time. I've read Pride and Prejudice to Draco so many times that his speech has improved. Father has been having Snape come by on weekends and teach Draco and I. April came around and on the eve of my birthday, I asked Draco to let me be by myself. I wanted to look good all day for him and my morning image usually ruined that. He protested but I insisted. I was in an empty classroom in Hogwarts. I saw Seamus on his knees in front of the Carrows. His hands were tied behind his back and they were switching between who got to use the Crucio curse on him and who would use one of Snape's spells, Sectumsempra to hurt him. I tried to scream for them to stop. But no words came out of my mouth. Then there was a flash of green light, and Seamus' body hung. Lifeless. I sat up straight in my bed, crying my eyes out. I bolted to my desk and wrote a quick message. I ran down to the study. It was too early in the morning for even Berta to be up so no one was anywhere to be seen. I tied the letter to the owl and brought him up to my room and let him out the window there. I instructed him to bring it to Seamus and to bring the response to this window. I let him go and slid down the wall, crumbling. I __prayed that he would get back to me soon. For him to get back to me at all. On my note I wrote two sentences:_

___Seamus Finnigan, alive or dead?_

___Hurry._

_ It was noon before I got up again. I got dressed in the clothes that Narcissa had bought me. __ cgi/set?id=67420054__ Wiping the last of the tears away, I walked down to the dining room. Cards were sitting at my usual seat. Draco walked in just as I was sitting down. He came over and kissed me. "Good Morning, birthday girl" he smiled. "Good Morning" I returned the smile. "I missed you last night" he told me as he made his way around the table to where he was usually seated. I smirked. ____Well, I'm glad I woke up alone.__ I ate quickly and before I could run up to my room and wait for a response, Draco stopped me. "Where do you think you're going?" he whispered into my ear. I __giggled just as Narcissa ran in. "Come quick. Harry Potter and his friends might have been snatched. We need you to identify Potter" she told Draco. Leaving my side, he walked with her. "Stay here" he ordered me. They disapparated and I booked it upstairs to change into something more suitable if my father did end up coming. __ cgi/set?id=67432186__ I apparated to the front walk of the Malfoy Manor. Walking into the mansion I heard noise from upstairs in the front room. I went up to a half level above. At the balcony, I could see Snatchers holding Ron and Hermione. Bellatrix was coaxing Draco into telling her whether or not the deformed boy she was holding was, in fact Harry. I could see from here that it was. But I wasn't about to go tell anyone that. Apparently, neither was Draco. Lucius pulled him in to whisper things in his ear. The main snatcher wanted responsibility. Lucius began to yell at him but Narcissa quieted him. Draco was still examining Harry while Bellatrix started talking to Hermione. Then she spotted me up in the balcony. She smiled a little. But I was cross. I directed her line of vision to a sword in one of the snatcher's hands. The sword of Gryffindor, which was supposed to be in her vault at Gringotts. My father's horcrux was there as well. When she saw the sword, she went berserk. I waited until it was only Hermione left in the trio, for me to come down from the balcony. I walked to Draco calmly. "What are you doing here?!" he asked harshly. "I have to be here if he shows up. You know that" I spat back as I sat next to him while Bellatrix loomed over Hermione. I grabbed Draco's hand when Hermione began to scream. He hugged me as she continued to be tortured. All of a sudden, Harry, Ron, and Dobby jumped from the stairs. As they were attacking the Malfoys I stayed on the couch. But when I saw Bella take Hermione with a knife at her throat I yelled, "STOP!" The boys looked at me quickly. But soon looked at Hermione and Bella. Draco picked up their wands. Harry's face was returning to normal so Bella ordered Lucius to call my father. But right before he touched his dark mark, we turned our heads up to see Dobby unscrewing the chandelier. As it fell I lept to my left as to dodge the glass. Hermione escaped Bella's hold on her and ran right into Ron's arms. Harry ran to Draco and grabbed the wands in his hands. When Lucius went to attack again, Harry counter-cursed him. "STUPID ELF! You could have killed me!" Bella yelled. "Dobby never meant to harm. Dobby only meant to maim or seriously injure!" Dobby said. Narcissa waved her wand as to preform a spell but Dobby snapped his fingers and the wand came to him. "How dare you take a witches wand! How dare you defy your masters!" Bella accused. "Dobby has no masters. Dobby is a free elf!" Dobby announced. "Scarlett! Come on!" Harry yelled to me. I was tempted. To go on the run with them. But then Draco ran over and grabbed my wrist and we disapparated back to the Riddle Residence._

_THIRTY NINE_

_ "Why'd you do that?!" I yelled. "To protect you!" Draco hollered back. "I can handle myself! I __don't need your help, you know!" "Well, it looks a lot more like you were kidnapped if I took you away __before you could decide to go with them no doesn't it?" he bellowed. I took a breath. "Leave me alone, Draco"I told him quietly as I walked back up to my room. When I closed the door, I realized that the owl had returned. I sprinted to it. Taking off the letter, I hurriedly opened it._

___Alive._

___Hurry back._

_ I smiled in relief as I held the letter to my chest. If the Carrows had killed him, I wouldn't have kept my cool and calm demeanour. I would have full out proved myself to be my father's daughter. I jumped when there was a knock at my door. I threw the letter under my bed and told the person to enter. It was Draco. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Yeah, I'm sorry I yelled. I was just frazzled from the offer" I told him. He walked over and slunk down so that he was sitting next to me, leaning against my bed. "Well, I guess that I would be too" he smiled. "Oh really?" I challenged. "Well, they are your __friends-yes they are, you can lie to you dad but I know differently-and you've been having to lie to them for the entire duration that you've known them. It's got to be hard" he told me as he put and arm around me. "Please just don't forget that I'll be here for you, no matter how much of an asshole I am to your friends" he winked. I kissed his cheek affectionately and nuzzled my face into his chest. "Happy Birthday, Scar" he whispered as he kissed my head._

_ It was May 1__st__, and I was called from my room to see my father. "Yes, father?" I asked as I walked quickly into the front room. He had said it was an emergency. "Harry Potter has been spotted in Hogsmeade. We are going to Hogwarts tonight, go get changed" he told me. I rushed back up into my room and threw on the outfit that I had prepared incase of a situation like this. __ cgi/set?id=67503433__ As I tied the bow in my hair, Draco rapped on my bathroom door. "Ready?" he asked, obviously nervous. I turned to him, my face grim. "Yeah, let's get this over with" I said as I pushed past him out of my room. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to him. "This may be the last time I'm allowed to do this" he said. Before I could ask what he was talking about, he pulled me into a deep kiss. We were interrupted by a cough at the door. I turned to see Yaxley. "Can we help you?" Draco growled. "We're leaving" he told us as he left. I took Draco's face in my hands and I kissed him once more. As we were walking down to the foyer he had a pained expression written plainly across his face. Before we descended the grand staircase I stopped us. "This will be our last chance to speak privately. Tell me what's wrong before we go" I demanded. He looked at me and obviously hurting with every word he spoke he explained. "If you see a chance to take Seamus and run, take it and never turn back." "Draco, I-" "No. You have to promise me." "Fine, I promise" I sighed as I heard our names being called. When we got down to the first level, I let go of Draco's arm. I would be travelling with my father. I took his arm and we apparated to the grounds at Hogwarts. _

_FOURTY_

_ When we arrived, we walked to a ridge overlooking Hogwarts. Standing with my father a few feet in front of the hoard of death eaters on the ridge, I watched as a figure soar towards us. When they landed I saw it was Snape. "Is he back?" father asked. "Yes, my lord and he has the Order of Phoenix with him" Snape replied. Father dismissed him as he used a spell so that he could communicate with the people in the castle. "I know that many of you want to fight. Some of you may even think that to fight is wise. But this is folly. Give me Harry Potter, do this and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter and I will leave Hogwarts untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded. You have one hour" he told them. When he was done he turned to me. "By tomorrow, we will be reigning __supreme" he told me proudly. I beamed. "You will go with Draco to make sure that they don't touch my horcrux. Understand?" he told me. I nodded as Draco walked up to the front of the death eaters. I turned to him and he mouth something. I raised an eyebrow but he shook his head. I turned back to the castle to see that there was defence spells being cast around the school to protect it. I laughed silently. "What is it dear?" father asked. "Well, it's just that they think that they can stop you" I told him smiling. He laughed. "Yes. They never learn. Such a pity." he responded. "M-my lord, p-princess, shouldn't we wait?" Pius asked. We simply turned to face him and he stepped back, bowing his head. "Begin" my father said and death eaters shot spells out of their wands to the barrier. They bounced off but we knew that if it kept going that the barrier would eventually deteriorate. I lifted my wand up to shoot my own spell, but my father stopped me. "Save your strength" he told me. I put my arm down to watch. Then out of no where, my father was struck by an unexpected force. When he recovered, he used his own spell on the barrier. It began to deteriorate in flaming chunks. I watched as the snatchers went through the covered bridge as it blew up then as the giants stomped across the stone bridge. "Scarlett, Draco. Go please" father told us. Draco took my arm and we apparated. We ended up in a corridor filled with teenagers running scared. Draco seized Blaise and Goyle who had been running by __and we went to the Room of Requirement._

_ We hid behind pillars and we watched Harry go by, but as soon as he went inside we booked it to follow him. We searched around and couldn't find him. "Where is he?" Goyle asked impatiently. "Shut up, buffoon. No one asked your opinion" I snapped. "Since when do I take orders from you?" he spat. "Since she assumed the role of the Dark Princess. So every day you've known her" Draco told him. Both Goyle and Blaise took a second look at me. "But-" Blaise started but I shushed him. I had spotted Harry. He had the diadem. We stepped out from behind the junk. "Well well, what brings you here Potter?" Draco asked. We had our wands drawn and pointing at him. "I could ask you the same" he replied. "You have something of mine. I'd like it back." "Well, what's wrong with the one you have?" "It's my mother's. It's powerful but it's not the same. Doesn't quite, understand me. Know what I mean?" "Why didn't you tell her? Bellatrix. You knew it was me. You didn't say anything" Harry said. Goyle whispered into Draco's ear, "Come on, Draco. Don't be a prat. Do him." "Oh leave him be, Goyle" I told him. Draco was about to do something when Hermione turned a corner and yelled, "Expelliarmus!" Draco and Blaise ran, Goyle fought Hermione a little before following his friends and I stayed where I was. Ron chased the boys yelling after them, "That's my girlfriend, you nogies!" Harry started to climb a tower of junk after the diadem and Hermione hugged me. "You're alright!" "Yeah I'm fine. And how are you?" I asked. "Brilliant" she responded. Harry moved a piece of furniture out of the way and yelled, "I got it!" as he pulled out the diadem. He jumped down just as we heard Ron screaming and running back to us. "Goyle's setting the bloody place on fire!" he told us as he grabbed Hermione's hand and they ran the other way. Harry and I stood there as we watched fire in the form of a snake come around the junk and head towards us. He grabbed my hand and we followed Ron and Hermione. As we ran from the fire, we knocked over some furniture in hopes that it would delay it. The action only fuelled it. It came out in the shape of a dragon. We kept running until we realized that we were surrounded by fire. As the snake 'struck' per say, Harry used a water charm to stop it. Ron was knocked over and realized that we could use brooms to get out. While flying out of the room, I spotted Draco and Blaise on top of a junk pile. "Come on this way!" Ron yelled. "Harry! We have to help them!" I told him. Harry looked at me for a second before agreeing and turning around. "Scarlett's right! We can't leave them!" he said. "They're joking right?" Ron asked Hermione as he followed Harry. "If we die for them Harry, I'm going to kill you!" Ron yelled as they dove in for a second time to grab the boys. This time they were successful. With Draco riding with Harry and Blaise riding with Ron, Hermione and I lead the way out of the Room of Requirement. Once out, Harry stabbed the diadem and Ron kicked it in through the closing doors. Blaise had ran off but Draco was waiting for me. "Come on, Scarlett! We have to get out of here!" he told me. I told him one minute. I had to talk to Harry. "Harry, you have to promise me something!" I whispered urgently. "That depends on what it is" he told me. "No. You have to promise me that you'll kill Voldemort. Promise!" I pleaded. He nodded. "I promise" he told me. I hugged him tightly. "Thank you!" I whispered before running to Draco and we ran off down the corridor._

_FOURTY ONE_

_ Draco and I ran to the grand hall. He told me that we should go back to the ridge but I ignored him when I saw Neville being attacked by a masked death eater. I yelled, "Stupify!" at the death eater. When he flew back, Neville turned to me. His eyes widened. I strode up to him, "What'd I miss?" I said as I winked. "Scarlett!" he grinned. I hugged him but as I did I saw another death eater coming up behind him. "Reducto!" I cast. "Ew, that was gross" I said as his mangled body crashed to the ground, body parts spewn in different places. "But effective" Neville smiled. Just then, I heard my father's voice. All the fighting stopped. "You have fought valiantly, but in vain. I do not wish this. Every drop of magical blood spilt is a terrible waste. I therefore command my forces to retreat. In their absence, __dispose of your dead with dignity. Harry Potter, I now speak directly to you. You have allowed your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. There is no greater dishonour. Join me in the forbidden forest and confront your fate. If you do not do this, I shall kill every last man, woman, and child who tries to conceal you from me" he said. I shuddered. It was creepy, even to me. As the other death eaters were leaving, I ran from the hall with Draco. We had been instructed to stay in the castle until my father came to get us. We ran to the astrology tower to watch for Voldemort._

_ We sat there for about an hour. We didn't talk. He just held me as I leaned my head into his chest. We were so comfortable with each other that the silence wasn't even awkward. Maybe even expected. I was drifting off when suddenly he sat up straight. "There they are, come on!" he said as he stood up. "Help me up?" I asked, smiling a bit. He held out a hand and I took it. With great force he pulled me up, in fact it was so much force that I fell forward into his arms. With an inch between our faces, he smirked. "Before we go down, can you tell me something?" I asked. "Anything" he told me. "When ever I yell at you, you smirk. Why?" I asked. The question deepened his smirk. "Because I think you're right fit when you're mad" he admitted. Blushing, I backed away. "Well come on then" I told him as we walked down to the courtyard, hand in hand._

_ As we stood on the stone steps I saw Hagrid carrying Harry. Harry was dead. I gulped and gripped Draco's hand tightly. Father was in the lead and behind them was the death eater army. When they reached the courtyard, Father addressed the gathering crowd. "Harry Potter, is dead!" he announced. Ginny started running to the hoard of death eaters, screaming in heartbreak, but Arthur pulled her back. "SILENCE! Stupid girl. Harry Potter is dead. From this day forth, you put your faith in me and my daughter" he told everyone. I took a step back to hide a little behind Draco, embarrassed. People around us started to whisper a little. "He has a daughter?" "Who's his daughter?" I heard people whispering all around me. Father turned to his death eaters and told them happily, "Harry Potter is dead!" They laughed. He turned back to the crowd. "Now is the time to declare yourself. Come forward and join us! Or die" He told us. No one moved. Lucius called out, "Draco. Draco!" Draco still didn't move. But when Narcissa said, "Draco, come" he let go of my hand and crossed the courtyard. At the centre, he met my father. "Ah, well done Draco. Well done." Father told him as they awkwardly hugged. When Draco reached his parents, they turned and went deeper into the hoard of death eaters. "Scarlett. Come here please" I heard my father say. My head snapped up. I looked around at my friends. I looked at Seamus, all cut up from the Carrows torture and bleeding from the fight. I knew I had to choose between my father and my friends. "No" I told him defiantly. He was shocked. "Now, Scarlett. We both know what you make me do when you defy me. First I had to make the death eaters burn down your friends house. Then I had to threaten that filthy half blood boy so that you'd break up with him. Do the right thing, dear" he said. I glanced around at the people putting together the pieces of the puzzle and took a deep breath. "I'd rather die than join you" I told him. He was furious. "Scarlett Rose Riddle! Come here this instant!" he bellowed. At the sound of my real name, I winced and there was a collective gasp. People were staring at me wide eyed. "Fine, I didn't want to have to resort to this but you leave me no choice. Crucio!" he yelled. The pain was unimaginable. It was worse than one thousand white hot knives slashing me and twisting in my flesh all at once. I screamed as I fell to the ground. Just then, Neville moved forward. Happy with the damage he had caused, Father turned to him. "Well, I must say that I'd hoped for better" Father teased as the death eaters laughed. "And who might you be, young man?" he asked Neville. "Neville Longbottom" he replied. The death eaters laughed again, especially Bella. "Well, Neville. I'm sure we can find a place for you in our ranks" Father said. "I'd like to say something" Neville announced. This caught my father off guard. "Well Neville, I'm sure we would all be fascinated to hear what you have to say" father responded eventually. "It doesn't matter that Harry's gone" Neville started. "Stand down, Neville!" Seamus told him. Neville turned to him, "People die every day! Friends. Family. Yeah, we lost Harry tonight. He's still with us, in here"-he gestured to his heart- "So is Fred, Remus, Tonks. All of them. They didn't die in vain! But you will!"-he __turned to my father who was laughing- "Cause you're wrong! Harry's heart did beat for us! For all of us! It's not over!" Neville exclaimed as he pulled the sword of Gryffindor out of the hat he was carrying and Harry burst from Hagrid's arms. He cast a spell at Nagini and ran to the outside of the courtyard. Father was furious. He threw spells at Harry as Harry ran. I laughed in relief and ran into the castle along with everyone else. _

_ Everyone seemed to distance themselves from me. I didn't blame them. Suddenly a death eater landed in front of me. He threw a spell at me and I deflected it. He kept coming at me and I knew I wasn't going to be able to hold him off forever. Suddenly, he was blown sideways. I turned to see Ginny. "You were good to me. Prove that you're more than a last name" she told me. I smiled in thanks. She took my hand and squeezed it before heading off to fight near her family. I looked around to see who need help. I saw Luna and Dean fighting off three death eaters so I ran over. "Reducto!" I said, aiming at the guy with his back to me. Using the stunning spell, I got rid of another. After taking care of the last one. They smiled at me. "You're still you. Right?" Dean asked. "Never changed" I told him. I turned and felt a wand at my throat. Percy Weasley. "I don't believe you" he said. "It could have been an act. You've proved yourself very good at lying already" he challenged. I resorted to muggle fighting. I took his arm and twisted it behind his back easily. I whispered in his ear, "If I wanted to kill you, I would have done that already." "O-okay" he stammered. I pushed him away. When I looked up I made eye contact with Seamus. I looked away quickly. I was ready to face anyone but him. I watched as Molly destroyed Bellatrix and I smiled. I ran out of the grand hall and almost slammed right into Thorfinn Rowle. He chuckled evilly as he seized my arms and lifted me off the ground. "Leave her ALONE!" someone screamed from behind me. Suddenly, he let me go. I slammed to the ground and he blew back over the railing of some stairs. I turned around to see Sophie. She looked angry. "You! You, IDIOT! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!" She screamed as she ran over to me. Scared, I backed up but she reached me before I could get very far and she hugged me fiercely. I sighed, relieved. "Where are Charlotte and Ava?" I asked. "Ava was on the run since she's a muggle born. But I heard she was captured by some snatchers. And Charlotte..." she whimpered. "Shh..It's okay Soph. What happened?" I calmed her. "She was killed. By a death eater. In the first part of the battle" she explained as tears started to roll down her usually rosy cheeks. I held her close. When I saw a death eater approaching us, I stunned them. Someone ran in yelling that Aberforth was here. I smiled. "She won't have died in vain, we will be victorious!" I told her. ____God, I sound like my father.__ As we walked down to the courtyard, we fought off death eaters that approached us. Either stunning them or blowing them to pieces. When we did reach the courtyard, I saw my father and Harry in the middle of a fight. Spells were merging in the middle and fighting for dominance. But father was getting weaker. His wand flew from his hand as the light from the spells disappeared. It landed in Harry's outstretched hand. Only now did I realize that it was the elder wand. The most powerful wand in the world. ____That's what he had been searching for all this time!__ I concluded. But then something crazy happened. Father's skin began to flake off and away until he was no more. Gone. He was gone. I ran out to Harry and tackled him with a hug. "Thank you! Thank you, Harry!" I whispered into his ear. I was free. I didn't have to get married to Draco. ____He's gone. He's really gone._

_FOURTY TWO_

_ The death eaters scattered when they learned Voldemort's fate. People were tending to each other. Smiling. Telling heroic stories. Reassuring each other. I walked through the hall with Sophie at my side. "Sophie! You're okay!" we heard. We turned to see Collin. Sophie gave me a parting look and whispered in my ear before running and hugging Collin. "Go find him. I know he's alive" she had told me. I didn't go to him though. I wasn't ready to face him just yet. I walked over to Slughorn and took a seat on the ground, hoping not to attract any attention but to no avail. He noticed me almost immediately. "Ah, I knew you had to be related to the Riddles. Who knew that you were one of them?! __I saw how you defied your father. Brave girl" he told me. I smiled a little but continued to look at the ground. "You know, you have your mother's looks. She was beautiful and the sweetest person you could meet. To think that she married the darkest wizard of all time is ironic to me" he said. My head snapped up. "You knew my mother?!" I asked. "Kathrine? Of course. I'll tell you all about her later though. I think someone wants to speak to you" he told me, referring to someone behind me. I turned to see Seamus looking at me a few metres back. I took a deep breath and followed him out of the great hall to the courtyard. _

_ Without looking at me he spoke. "What was the real reason you broke up with me?" he asked. "He said he'd kill and torture you and your family if I didn't" I admitted. He turned to me. "We could have-" "Seamus. Don't be foolish. You know that you couldn't have. He would have sent his most blood thirsty and sadistic death eaters. You wouldn't have stood a chance" I cut him off. He closed the distance between us, but not in a sexy or romantic way. But in a menacing way. He towered over me, looking down at me he growled, "Look at my face. Do you really think I can't take torture?!" I glared right back at him. "I don't care if you can, I don't want you to have to!" I told him. He exhaled and backed up a little. Putting his fingers on the bridge of his nose, he sighed. "Did you ever even love me?" he asked. I was caught off guard by this question. I stared at him, my mouth ajar. "W-what?" I stammered. "It's not a hard question, Scarlett" he snapped. I was hurt. "Seamus, why would you even think that?" I asked. "Well you lied about who you were so it's not hard to believe that you never did actually love me!" he spat. "I was forced to change my identity. I was never forced to love you. It was the reason that he made me break up with you. So, yes. I truly did love you" I told him forcefully. He looked at me. Then down at my hand. "But now you have to marry Draco, right?" he asked angrily. The thought made me smile. When he saw me smiling he turned away. "Well, if you love him now then fine!" he yelled over his shoulder as he walked back into the castle. I chased after him calling his name. He ignored me. I grabbed his hand and he pulled away roughly. I stopped in my tracks. "SEAMUS FINNIGAN. YOU LISTEN TO ME RIGHT NOW!" I bellowed. He stopped immediately and turned around, shocked. "I wasn't smiling because of the marriage. I was smiling because now since my father is dead, the betrothal is off" I told him. "B-betrothal?" he asked, still recovering from my outburst. "Do you really think I'd marry Draco if I had the choice?" I questioned. I don't know what came over him but he walked over to me swiftly and kissed me. Hard. He had his hands on my face holding me there, as if I would have wanted to back out. I put my hands on his chest and grabbed pieces of his shirt to make sure he didn't back out. We heard someone, probably Dean, yell in our direction. "Ladies and gentlemen! Seamus and Scarlett are in love again. All is right with the world!" they yelled. I laughed into the kiss and I'm pretty sure Seamus gave them the finger as he smiled as well. I wrapped my arms around his torso and he moved his hands to match my action. He leaned back only for a moment, smiling. "I love you, Scarlett" he told me. "I love you too, Seamus. Always have. Always will" I replied as I grinned. He leaned back in and we kissed for as long as we pleased. There was no one to stop us anymore and that, was a blissful sort of feeling._

_ I returned to the Riddle Residence with Seamus at my side. Since it was all legally mine, we decided to give it a makeover. It was much more pleasant now. Sun streamed through the windows and I saw Berta smiling as she cleaned the shiny white kitchen. I returned the ring to Draco who took it willingly. "You're getting the life you deserve with the guy you deserve. I'm happy for you, Scar" he told me. I smiled and hugged him tightly. I beamed when he and Seamus shook hands. They wouldn't be fighting anymore. I found out that Ava had been tortured for information and had died three hours before Voldemort was defeated._

_NINETEEN YEARS LATER_

_ "Alright, what you have to do is run right through that post!" I told my daughter, Darcy. "Mom, __that's insane" she told me. I laughed. "I know, darling. But we've got to do it to get to the platform" I told her. "I don't want to! I'm scared!" she protested. "How about we do it together?" Seamus asked her. She nodded. I smiled thanks to him as he took her through. My seven year old son, Dominic, and I watched as they passed right through it. He pulled at my dress, "Can we do that too, Mummy?" he asked. I smiled and nodded. "Okay, ready? Three, two, one!" I said as we charged through the wall. We came up on the other side and were greeted by Seamus and Darcy. "That was fun!" Darcy exclaimed. I smiled. "Darcy Elizabeth Finnigan. Are you saying that you liked it?!" I teased her. She smiled shyly. "Go give your trunks to those guys over there Darce" Seamus pointed. When she returned I sighed. "Oh, baby! You're going to Hogwarts! You're going to have so much fun! Study hard! Make friends! Don't get in trouble!" I started to fuss. "Mummm...stop! That's embarrassing!" Darcy protested. "Oh Darce, I thought you had learned my now! That's her job!" Seamus teased. She and Dominic giggled. Just then we heard, "Well, if it isn't the Finnigans. Fancy seeing you here" Dean said as he and his twin boys came hurdling towards us. Ramilda must be back home with their unplanned newborn. Seamus and Dean hugged and Dean kissed me on the cheek in greeting. Ben and Alex were talking with Darcy avidly about Hogwarts. They were going into their second year. "Hi, Dominic" said a small voice. I looked to see little Gwen Bradford. "Hello, Gwen! Where are mum and dad?" I asked the little ginger. She looked up at me with her deep and familiar brown eyes. She pointed behind her and I saw Sophie coming around the corner. "There you are! And there __**you**__ are! Scarlett!" Sophie exclaimed as she hugged me. Collin was walking behind her and scooped up their 8 year old. Rachel must've already boarded the train. Just then I heard, "All aboard!" I inhaled. "Oh come here!" I said as I hugged Darcy and kissed her multiple times. "MUM!" she protested. "Yeah alright, on you go!" I told her as she hugged her father and got onto the train. I saw her get into a compartment with Scorpius, Rachel, Alex, and Ben. Scorpius of her childhood friends, I had forgotten that he was starting Hogwarts this year too. I turned and saw Draco and his wife, Ariana. I waved and he waved back. Dominic took my hand and Seamus put his arm around my waist as we waved goodbye to Darcy. I leaned my head on Seamus' shoulder and smiled. My father had been dead for nineteen years. All was well._


End file.
